Roads and telephony
Claude Fischer's “America Calling” has a nice comparison between the early history of the automobile and the history of telephony. He quotes an AT&T vice president grousing about government investment in roads back in the early days of the automobile — there was a “Good Roads” movement (started by bicyclists) that encouraged municipalities and agencies to get involved in paying for road surfaces.
This was a big help for the automobile industry, which continues to be a competitive one. The AT&T vice president quoted by Fischer was jealous:
In 1928 Vice President Page of AT&T noted that the automobile industry financed the campaigns for good roads and that 'the money spent on good roads was the greatest subsidy an industry ever had.'
By contrast, the governmental investment story for telephony has been more limited. Yes, they got access to public rights of way, and more recently (as Teletruth reveals) telcos received regulatory subsidies to build advanced services. But at the start, private companies operated without much government assistance.
Perhaps that was a mistake. The car companies don't control the roads these days.