On the other hand, many people seem to be pretty happy watching videos on their phones via cellular, and don’t seem to care that there are fundamental physical limitations that mean they’ll never be able to simultaneously watch 1000 videos at the same time on their phones.

In any case, what the OP is talking about is pairing wireless with copper/fiber backhaul. He’s just saying that, in addition to the wireless between your phone and your home’s Wi-Fi access point, with copper/fiber the rest of the way, many newer homes will also have wireless between that Wi-Fi access point and the ISP’s cellular tower, from which the signal will travel via copper/fiber.

Or he realizes that both are fast enough for most people, and the market for extreme internet speed is a bit like the market for sports cars that can do 150 mph. You can sell them to enthusiasts, and to people who are convinced by shiny ads, but most people aren’t going to notice that extra speed in everyday use.

If an ISP figures they can get 100% of customers in a neighborhood by building fiber infrastructure down every street and renting space on poles, or they can get 90% of those customers by installing one cell tower, some might be OK with a relatively small investment that still gets them most of the customers.