The moment all the lobbyists were on board, it became very much a political gamble. Who are we but smallest of the smallest plankton on which the small fish feed!
There are bigger 10000000x sized whales in the market out there.
On a side note do read this book called the
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/jan/28/biography.politics It would alter your perspective of how foreign policy and economics and military campaigns intersect and how they play out!
Also, yes the telecom industry has indeed become cartelized. I wouldn't invest in telecom and aviation for sure even if I would take some trades on that. I am not talking of investing here which would mean one has to sit tight and hold positions for atleast 7 to 10 years or more.