system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: The "$200 billion rip-off" of the 1990s that was supposed to bring the US high speed networks but never came to fruition.

Was this really as bad as it sounds? If so, why isn't it more well known?
gpt
It wasn't a rip-off in the sense that there were $200 billion worth of checks written for a product that was never delivered.  It was more of a Regulatory Capture situation where the big Telcos basically said "The only way we'll ever be able to build these nice networks is if you pass a bunch of laws that make things cheaper for us, or let us make more money."

So, over time various government bodies did a bunch of stuff that was supposed to make it possible for this really great fiber optic network to be built.  Things like reclassifying easement rights as tax-exempt, elimination of taxes/fees paid on poles in the public right-of-way,   Tariff adjustments that let them charge more for existing services, etc.

Somebody has come along and slapped a $200B price tag as the value of all of those advantages that were granted.