How do I find out what it would take to successfully wire the "last
mile" to a specific location?  Or to put it another way, what will it
take to _own_ the "last mile"?

In context, with the issue of the Net Neutrality issue up before
Congress, I read initially from Cringely and Frankston
(http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20060629.html) that owning
the last mile is possible to break the local telco monopolies and
avoid future legislation sanctioning QoS rules layed down by telcos. 
What procedures would be required to make this happen?  What (if any)
regulatory agencies would have oversight or some level of involvement
in the process of running fiber?  Where would the fiber be run to
centrally so it could be hooked up with different ISPs (so there would
always be a bidding process there)?