And, they add, local governments cannot fix potholes, let alone run telecoms networks.But with so many cities being wooed by the promise of Wi-Fi, some telecoms firms feel threatened, and are fighting back through state legislatures, where their lobbying clout is strongest.
This is not just because rising energy prices have made it more expensive to run telecoms networks; it is also because telecoms networks and devices account for nearly 1% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, and the industry wants to avoid criticism from green campaigners.
The iPhone was not officially released in China until late last year, nearly two years after its introduction in the United States because of what analysts say were long-running negotiations with state-run telecom companies, and restrictions on what kinds of services could be offered.
In fact, Apple has been eager to team up with state-run telecom companies, which control the all-important mobile phone subscriptions.
He was convicted of accepting more than $1.15 million in bribes while working at a series of state-run telecom companies from 1994 to 2009.
In 2016, the company partnered with MPT, the state-run telecom company, to give subscribers access to its Free Basics program.
An article on Monday about abuses of Facebook's services in various countries rendered incorrectly the name of a government-run telecom company in Myanmar.
As more and more countries abandon government-run telecom systems, offering cellular network licenses to the highest-bidding private investors and without the burden of navigating pre-established bureaucratic chains, new towers are going up at a furious pace.
Zhang Chunjiang, the former vice chairman of China Mobile, the world's largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, was charged with accepting more than $1.15 million in bribes while working at a series of state-run telecom companies between 1994 and 2009, when he was removed from his post.
