In part, because of the existence proof of doing it that way. No, it&#x27;s not as simple as saying that AT&amp;T was bad. They established highly reliable landline service. I also hear that Bell Labs did a couple of interesting things in its history. :-) (AT&amp;T wasn&#x27;t nationalized but it was a regulated monopoly.)<p>However, you also weren&#x27;t allowed to so much as provide your own telephone until AT&amp;T was forced to allow it by the government. And phone service, especially outside of a small local area, was shockingly expensive for a very long time. (Yes, some of this is because of technology but AT&amp;T also had little incentive and little interest in cutting rates absent competition.)<p>For the short video version, cue Lily Tomlin:<p>We don&#x27;t care. We don&#x27;t have to. We&#x27;re the phone company.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=CHgUN_95UAw" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=CHgUN_95UAw</a>