I have mixed feelings about a utility.
On one hand, what Riccochet says is exactly true, and part of the problem. Broadband is not considered an essential utility -- but I think that it is in today's world. 100 years ago we were roughly in the same boat with electricity and telephone access.
Without being a Utility, anyone who can pay enough can get right-of-way access, and the underhanded part is that they can go beyond that and pay enough to prevent anyone else from getting them (usually via political connections). But - that doesn't include any provision or requirement to ensure equal access (either geographically or financially). You aren't officially a utility, but you effectively get to be a monopoly by employing anti-competitive tactics under the table. Oh, they will claim they have competition, and in some (select) marketplaces, they may actually. But most will point to Hughesnet (high altitude satellite) or Cellular access (with extremely limiting caps) and say that's competition and use that as justification against antitrust investigations.
Being classified as an official utility - you get a government mandate to be a monopoly in an area. No one else can compete with your franchise rights, and you get to make a guaranteed rate of return, although it's subject to oversight. The flip side of getting to be the only kid on the block is that you have regulations that state you have to include everyone -- both geographically and financially.
I am hoping wireless connectivity (either cellular or low-altitude satellite) blows up the wired industry and actually provides some level of competition. I know they will never get parity, but they get closer all the time.
Utilities suck. A lot of them abuse their privilege. If you get to make a guaranteed 8% margin, you are incentivized to make everything cost as much as it absolutely can - you just have to stack the oversight board with sympathetic voices (ex-vice presidents and the state Governor, in the example of my local electrical utility) that will vote to approve your spending plans and rate hikes. And there can be no real competition.
Telecoms being ISPs - they get to abuse the right of ways they have for their utility service and use that for non-utility functions (being the ISP). Even though in many markets, telecom has moved to digital anyway, and in a technical sense, telephony is just another data stream on the digital network; and the utility mandate only applies to the telecom aspect of it.
Cable companies got in early before there was really any other use for those right of ways, and not being utilities don't have any obligation to serve low income or geographically spares areas.
Now both protect their right-of-ways rigorously to prevent anyone else from coming in and laying cable or fiber or any other competing access.
In both cases - Riccochet is right. Government is a huge part of the problem. But I can't think of any way that works to provide equal access to a necessary utility without government also being a part of the solution.
