True, but in all those industries public money was heavily used to remove risk from the market, by either buying unproven technology (electricity, railroads) or

True, but in all those industries public money was heavily used to remove risk from the market, by either buying unproven technology (electricity, railroads) or by creating a "protected" (i. e.: regulated) space for private companies to operate. In mobile, take Nokia for example: Until the 80s Nokia's major activity was rubber-related products (seriously). That changed when they bought a state-owned telecom company, and that's when Nokia really focused on mobile telephony and made it popular. In other words, the government invested in the technology and removed the risk, enough so a private company could take it to the next level.