Well right now our telecommunications industry is stagnating. Why is it that one of the most advanced nations on earth has one of the worst internet standards of all the first world countries. And it's not a small difference either, we are talking 100s of times of difference.
It's obvious that the telecom companies won't do anything as long as they continue to make money. So how do we stop the stagnation? I'm sure you have heard of the "last mile" in DSL connections. We sit here while the rest of the world is passing us by in innovations.
All you have to do is simply look at Japan and South Korea. Both are countries with ultra-high speed connections and high speed cellular connection. While I realize that those are both small countries, if there is anywhere large that would be able to achieve that level of technology through ingenuity and innovation, it's America.
My thinking is that if the government does a small part of this work, that it would serve as a proof of concept to private companies. Even the internet is a direct result of the government. I'm not saying that the government should do everything, but at least a small part to show corporations what they are missing out on.