system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: In areas only served by comcast don't they have a monopoly? Isn't that the same thing that Bell did before the anti-trust board made them split?
gpt
It is not illegal to have a monopoly. It is illegal to obtain a monopoly by unfair competitive practises or to hold onto a monopoly by actively keeping competitors from entering the market. Comcast doesn't do that. The reason why comcast has regional monopolies in certain places is because setting up an ISP is ridiculously expensive. It takes a huge investment and the government can't make other companies invest in certain areas when they aren't even certain that is going to pay off.