The National Enquirer is a newspaper too, and probably the closer analogy to Facebook in reality than more reputable news organizations.
One of the key principles in telco regulation is ensuring any-to-any connectivity. It is now established in most jurisdictions that telcos have a monopoly over connecting to their end-customers (i.e. the only was to call a T-mobile customer is for T-mobile to accept the call into their network). Hence regulators not only mandate interconnection, but require it to be done on fair terms and conditions, including a fair wholesale price, which is often set by the regulator.
Imagine if William Randolph Heart and Ma Bell had a love child.
shall I burn it or wipe my arse with it.