commiserate in the absurdity, but toast to corporate bean counters being so afraid of audits that you can make a decent living.

We're starting to get XGS-PON in NZ.. 8Gbps symmetric...

https://hyperfibre.co.nz/hyperfibre-options/home

This isn't just some far fetched stuff, you can order it today.
Your telco system is broken, USA.

If we are to make contact, we first have to listen to them...
but are we listening at the right frequencies?

Correct me if i'm wrong, but if they were sending out ordinary old radio signals , wouldn't they be totally doppler shifted out of our listening range for conventional radio signals by the time they got anywhere even close to us?
It's all nice and good putting an ear to the stars, but if our ear just isn't tuned to hear what they are sending, we aren't going to hear a goddamn thing!