There are some interesting ideas

There are some interesting ideas for making your own DSL line in this here article by Cringely. The plan does require that you have a high-speed connection to the Internet at some point, but it does give good ideas for sharing it in what is likely a more economical way. I like the notion of setting up a neighborhood wireless network all fed from a network box across town. I guess what you need to find is some kindly benefactor with a fat pipe and a willingness to share if it doesn’t cost her too much. Too bad it’s near impossible to covertly install a copper pair on a university campus to share a little of that major bandwidth with the rest of the town.