To me, it sounds as those jurisdictions that have disconnects remote to the house, and still calling the supply conductors a service, need to get their heads out of the clouds and realize we are now more than a decade into the 21st century.
I totally disagree. POCO's don't know NEC. If the remote disconnect is POCO installed, maintained or otherwise - who is going to ensure they replace with same thing?
In cities/villages or other residential zoned areas maybe your comment makes more sense.
When the POCO serves both farms and city/village customers they have lately been tending to do the same for small services no matter where located which typically is a meter/main (the main may have overcurrent protection, it may not depending on other details) on a pole and customer owned/installed load conductors from that point on.
On the farm that pole location can vary and depends on agreements between onwer and POCO. The owner is typically paying for this pole, the equipment they mount on it, and conductors back to the public right of way portion of the distribution system, but POCO still maintains them. The price they pay is usually less then what a contractor could put it in for though.
Lets say they build a house on a farm and maybe have a couple outbuildings, nothing too heavy for load and supply it with 200 amp 120/240 single phase service with a 200 amp meter and main breaker located on a "central pole" Now two years later the owner that lives on the farm decides to install some grain storage bins and needs to upgrade the supply system (I will not call it service at this point to reduce confusion of whether the conductors leaving that are indeed feeder or service conductors). After determining what additional load is necessary they change the meter/disconnect equipment to 400 amp three phase meter with non fused disconnect. Now we have what once was the service disconnect still supplying same equipment (plus additional equipment) that is technically no longer the service disconnect. Happens all the time here - especially with the rural POCO's. It also happens the other way sometimes where there was no overcurrent protection and a change is made and overcurrent protection is installed when all is said and done.
One of the most common changes is when the POCO supplies a meter unit with a transfer switch. The units they are installing are not listed, but they can do it because they are the POCO and are not obligated to follow NEC. I have one of these transfer switch units at my place, and mostly because they put it in for less then I could have installed any transfer switch myself (even after considering I am an EC) at the time it was put in. Today it would cost more, but so does everything else.
If POCO owns or maintains it, the general rule for now is it is still service conductors on the load side - who knows what changes they may make down the road.
If it is not POCO owned or maintained - then an electrician (sometimes the owner) will be the one that makes changes and it should have to comply with NEC - then such equipment will have feeders on the load side if that equipment is a NEC qualifying service disconnecting means.
In the cities/villages where they more recently are installing same meter/mains they typically are installing them at an existing pole in the alley or near the street. They haven't been doing this for all that long yet, but they are still able to change it to anything they desire should it need changed with no permit, no inspection - it is regarded as service conductors leaving that point at this time.
The rural POCO has started doing this in cities/villages as a way to reduce their service call costs for underground service laterals. They still will maintain a lateral that has a meter on the house, but by putting the meter at the pole and a disconnecting means - they have allowed for the owner/owner's hired service tech to be able to disconnect at the pole and do any necessary maintenance/repairs to those underground conductors without having to call the POCO - if anything to at least not have to disconnect/reconnect them.