Big incumbent providers oppose public ownership of advanced telecom infrastructure, but happily accept government subsidies.

For years cable operators such as Comcast, Charter and Cox have fought hard against municipal broadband projects, always crying that it’s wrong for taxpayer dollars to compete against their private investments. But now, the competitive landscape is shifting. There’s a lot of taxpayer money available through government programs such as ARPA and most significantly through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.

https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/comcast-does-public-private-broadband-projects-across-footprint?utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_campaign=FT-NL-FierceTelecom&oly_enc_id=6444G7875712B4A

This story lacks so much context it's misleading. Giving money to large incumbent ISPs like Comcast isn't truly a public-private partnership as it's described here and in other media but rather a government subsidy. 

What large incumbent providers historically oppose is government ownership; they are more than happy to accept government subsidies. Especially when there's no quid pro quo that they provide connections to all premises within a given local jurisdiction. 

Also lacking is transparency in the use of public funds. The story notes Comcast declined to say how much the project cost in total and how much, if any, Comcast spent for the project.