Tales From a Broadband Black Hole → Local gated community did it themselves

My friend lives in a gated community in ritzy Bel-Air (Los Angeles area)

Verizon wouldn't provide DSL, so they pulled multiple T-1 lines to the community recreation center and established a wireless network that covers the whole development. Since it's in hills and canyons, they needed repeaters, but apparently everything works out very well.

People pay about $50/month for about a megabit up and down. Why don't people in other unserved areas do the same thing?