If there is no business case to build something that is essentially infrastructure, then it is likely a natural monopoly and must be regulated.
Large companies, due to their scale, are building capacity on new projects rather than buying into capacity on existing ones.
If new essential infrastructure is being built by new entrants with diversified providers, diverse routes, and improved technologies it seems like a sign of a healthy market.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture
Speaking of regulatory capture, I think that's really what happened and why Facebook has been able to get away with, actually, murder (e.g. Facebook's free internet had a big role in the murderous riots in Myanmar [1] and WhatsApp had a big role to play in mob lynchings [2], [3]). Not to forget the slap on the wrist they have gotten for what is basically child abuse in the "friendly fraud" case [4].
But not to worry, there is another dopamine hit coming up next minute to a mobile phone near you so you can pretend you never read this comment.
In my view, it is best not to let these tech giants anywhere near these kind of ventures.
[1] https://in.reuters.com/article/myanmar-rohingya-facebook/u-n...
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45140158
[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46145986
[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2019/01/25/facebook-tu...