This drives me crazy. The whole reason they are given a decades long monopoly is so they build the infrastructure. Once it is built there is absolutely no good

This drives me crazy. The whole reason they are given a decades long monopoly is so they build the infrastructure. Once it is built there is absolutely no good reason to renew the monopoly. It's like continuing to pay on your 30 year mortgage after 30 years! And when local governments had this power they renewed the cable monopolies anyway?! In 2005 San Francisco, for $8 million upfront and $500k a year, the SF government sold Comcast exclusive rights to SF's 800,000+ residents for 4 years. And this has effectively been extended indefinitely. This is a good example of the difference between the public and private sectors. [1] http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Board-panel-OKs-Comcast-deal-2650404.php http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Board-pa...