The lesson is that government doesn't care about you. The same goes to big organizations. Comcast doesn't care about selling internet at no profit to poor people.
I don't understand why this is downvoted. Perhaps you struck the WrongThink nerve.
No organization is going to invest seriously in doing an awesome job at something that is a pure financial loss. Just follow the incentives. One would have to be completely insane to expect otherwise. When you are just a number to the organization you are dealing with the effect is magnified.
> The lesson is that government doesn't care about you.
I'm sure you can cite examples of governmental bad behavior that are as neglectful or worst, but this behavior was by Comcast, not the government. In fact, in this case, the very existence of the Internet Essentials program in the first place was because of a government-imposed condition before approving a merger (although Comcast now continues it despite the specific provision having lapsed).