What country? It would helpful to know so we can dig into the details. I can assure you they don't separate themselves (soft+hard) out of the goodness of their hearts. Telco loves a monopoly where they can get it. I am sure it was wise regulations -- which the US lacks on this matter. Also, national broadband projects in NZ + AU + SE have been fairly successful. Basically, the gov't pays to build the network, then leases parts of it to ISP who compete.