&gt; <i>A free and fair market is not bad per se…</i><p>Such a market is not obvious to set up. Take the internet for instance. There are several ways to get a free markets, some of which lead to healthy competition between many many providers, and some of which lead to near-monopoly.<p>Basically, it all starts at the handling of the last mile.  There are <i>many</i> last miles to cover, and it doesn&#x27;t make technical sense to duplicate them.  So, one solution is have the state build the lines, then lease them to providers at regulated rates that allow small providers (10-100 subscribers) to use them at rates no worse than the big boys.  That solution tends to lead to the &quot;free and fair&quot; market you seek.<p>Another solution would be to minimise state intervention (because &quot;free market&quot;), and thus let providers build their own last miles —and lease them if they want to.  The result? A local monopoly at worst, and an oligopoly at best.<p>Free markets require a proper set-up.  That means prior intervention —by the state if need be.