What would it take? Two world wars leading a protracted cold war between two "superpowers." No surprise that the end of the cold war brought about the end of

What would it take? Two world wars leading a protracted cold war between two "superpowers." No surprise that the end of the cold war brought about the end of our collective need of a closely held quasi-national entity like AT&T. I think the real question is "What would it take to recreate it in the abstract, from the disparate components we have attached to the internet today?" Or to rephrase it "What happened to the early promise of the internet when it was mostly available only through Universities?"