In private residences in Colombia, it is placed after the meter.

In the old days this was a cartridge fuse connected to a large double-pole opens style knife switch on a porcelain or phenolic block.

This was the shutoff for the entire house!

Now a high-amperage circuit breaker before the individual breakers is the norm in good quality professional installations - sometimes you still have a knife switch before the main fuse and breakers (usually retrofits).

Kludges and cowboys still do the knife-switch and cartridge thing. [Linked Image]