Agreements between the local government and the provider aren't really collusion, just government created monopolies. As for some kind of collusion between pro

Agreements between the local government and the provider aren't really collusion, just government created monopolies. As for some kind of collusion between providers, if not competing is preferable for companies, why does anyone ever compete? Verbal agreements or not. Common sense says if you undercut someone's price they will cut their price too in response. Just offer the same price, stay out of their neighborhood, etc. Don't need to wink and nod about it. Yet we see fierce competition all over the place because that strategy doesn't work. New entrants always come along and they can't make a profit by playing that game when others already have all the market share. If you only see a single provider it's either a govt-protected monopoly as I mentioned above, or a beneficial monopoly that is holding prices too low for competition to see an opportunity.