Actually, .gov DID pay for it. It was called the ARPANET.
Umm ... Yeah. It was originally conceived to connect educational and research institutions together. BUT, then [as it grew], it became commercialized ...
So, private money built the national fiber optic routes, the MAEs, the collocation hotels, etc. How many BILLIONS of dollars did this cost - WHERE was the government then?
AND, when Google and Facebook were starting up - did they get grant money or Obamacash ??? HELL NO !!!
It was VC money that fed these bulldawgs ...
The government paid for it with OUR money... that was my point.
LLS