Water metaphor to explain middle mile providers

Imagine the Internet as water flowing through a system of pipes. The middle mile is like the large, main water pipe that brings water into a neighborhood from a distant reservoir. It doesn’t connect directly to individual homes but supplies water to a local distribution point. Similarly, a middle-mile Internet provider connects vast data highways, often through fiber optic networks, bringing Internet to regional areas but not to end-users directly. For instance, Zayo and Lumen are middle-mile providers, creating critical infrastructure across states​​.

On the other hand, the last mile provider is like the smaller pipes branching off from the main water line, delivering water directly into each home. These are the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that connect homes or businesses to the Internet through a localized network. For example, AT&T, Comcast, or municipal networks like CVFiber in Vermont are last-mile providers​​. Their role is to ensure that the data reaches individual users, much like how smaller pipes deliver water right to your faucet.