The strategic importance of owning the network could be incredibly valuable for any tech company. If the author is correct though, and the business really is a low margin headache, wouldn't it still be in their interest for Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc to set up some kind of joint venture to administer the network while they focus on their individual services?

I know it may be tough for them to work with their competitors like this, but it's better then being squeezed by and independent operator.