At least in the US, they're "government sanctioned" in the sense that the local city government may have signed a contract that gives them exclusivity in certai

At least in the US, they're "government sanctioned" in the sense that the local city government may have signed a contract that gives them exclusivity in certain neighborhoods. I've been told "that's Comcast's neighborhood" by a competing ISP in the past. If you mean that it's not state or federal, that's right (as far as I know).