[inglor_cz]

Bell Labs were owned by Western Electric and AT&T.

AFAIK they weren't directly public funded. You can argue that AT&T being a monopoly amounted to indirect help, but that still does not it itself generate enough money for research itself, neither does it ensure that the entity will be even willing to do and finance more research than absolutely necessary. They could have spent all the revenue on executive bonuses and campaign contributions to their congressmen.