I was thinking about
this article on AA's website concerning bug fixes and feature requests that AA wanted from ZyXEL. Despite getting in to this manufacturer for year or so AA, ZyXEL remained intransigent and AA could not get ZyXEL to just get on and do the right thing.
I wonder if small ISPs could get together into some kind of purchasing organisation. They could perhaps exert more pressure regarding fixes and feature requests and get better deals with joint bulk purchases. Do you think it would work?