Shrug maybe they could. They have yet to prove it in the real world in the US, as you mentioned.
I like that my ISP has no profit motive and is driven solely by customer/taxpayer satisfaction.
I wouldn’t like it if it became a political football, but so far so good. I think its safe for now because it is the same network used by the fire and police departments. Comcast really tried to kill it off.
We taxpayers built a municipal fiber to house broadband in Longmont Colorado. Stable service, one of the fastest in the nation and inexpensive.
I love it when a telecom asks me to"upgrade" to their service. It messes up their script when I ask them if they can beat 1 gig up and down for $45.
This is the way competition should work. Some things private companies do better, other things the government can do better. Let them hash it out in the market without loading the dice.
I think that was in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, iirc