Is enabling competition in fact the puzzle, though? This is a problem that's been studied intensively for well over a hundred years and solved in lots of other places. It's the same problem as power regulation, water regulation, closed-circuit television regulation, and so on. I don't think the problem is finding a solution at all. I think the problem is convincing citizens that adopting the solutions implemented elsewhere (e.g. decoupling infrastructure from service, community-owned utilities, etc) is a thing worth supporting.