From a policy prospective, a government service provider will stifle competition. Since the government can lose money and use taxes to survive, while a private

From a policy prospective, a government service provider will stifle competition. Since the government can lose money and use taxes to survive, while a private company must be efficient enough to show a profit, the government service provider is less efficient. And, since government can operate below cost (using tax subsidies) , private companies are priced out of the market, lowering competition. In terms of politics, cable providers have lobbied to carve out a legal monopoly for themselves, and so, in effect we see the same effect from the private company. The answer, in my opinion, is to have the municipalities run empty conduit to every home, and allow any private company to lay their cable there. This would allow more competition for electricity, cable, and potentially other utilities.