Given the fact that private companies have to make a profit; it should be more than obvious that they cannot supply services more cheaply than government. In fact I can't think of a public service that has ever been more cheaply supplied by a private service. I can, however, come up with several public services that are much more expensive due to the fact that they are privately owned, such as dental and eye-care.
Not in Canada. A few giant telecom companies dominate and they pretty much charge whatever they can get away with. Competition between these oligopolies seems to be minimal at best.
That's classic economics. Competition except where competition is impossible, regulation in that case. At the same time, constant review remains important. Competition in the early telephone industry was destructive, as various telephone companies refused to interconnect. So regulation created a monopoly and regulated it. Sixty years later, advancing technology made de-regulating the telephone industry desirable, so we did that..
Not in Canada. A few giant telecom companies dominate and they pretty much charge whatever they can get away with. Competition between these oligopolies seems to be minimal at best.