[sirtaj]

This line of thinking comes up so often, but ignores second order effects. I don't need schools because I have no children, but I will certainly depend on well educated children entering the workforce.

Or, more facetiously, I don't need a subsidised fire service because no building I visit is currently on fire.

[vasco]

Yes but you cannot make up more than about 10-15 examples everyone will agree with, seeing as those are subsidized in practically every country on earth, and then apply the thinking the guy above you gives for everything else.

In my opinion internet access is as fundamental a right now as water access so I think it should be subsidized to a fair degree.

But not for example if it is to supply only a small island of rich people just because they happen to want to live there and force the rest of the state to supply them. There's nuance to these things and we can't just outright subsidized everything and we can't market economy everything either

[sirtaj]

I agree with you. The internet is now important enough that it's required for almost everything past basic sustenance. Governments worldwide are moving services to the internet, so it's not even optional any more.

[Terr_]

As precedent, the framers of the US Constitution specifically authorized the government to run a national service provider of last resort...

In that technological era of horses and handwriting, it became the US Postal Service, but I think if it occurred today it would be the US Networking Service.