Didn't 1996 telecom deregulation mandate sharing of last mile copper, creating short-lived (~5 years) DSL CLECs funded by about $20B of public IPOs? Various tactics were employed by incumbent telcos to slow down the CLECs, while nominally complying with the requirement to share the last mile.
Yes, that was rolled back in 2001 as one of the first Bush Administration moves against the internet - I have no doubt this protectionist move was done in exchange for these big telcos to support the "terrorist surveillance" that's now turned into constant surveillance on Americans.
