Regulatory capture is more than just lobbying, it's a hijacking of the regulatory process by regulated companies. In any case, lobbying is an attractive narrative, but I don't see the link between lobbying and the actual anti-competitive regulations. Verizon and Comcast didn't lobby to be forced to build fiber/cable all over vast swaths of ghetto. AT&T isn't lobbying for San Francisco to impose inane restrictions on where you can put fiber cabinets.
To put it another way: look at the regulations Google demands exemption from in return for building fiber: build-out requirements, slow permitting, etc. Did the incumbents lobby for these things? No. They arose out of municipal politics that have little to do with lobbying.
To put it another way: look at the regulations Google demands exemption from in return for building fiber: build-out requirements, slow permitting, etc. Did the incumbents lobby for these things? No. They arose out of municipal politics that have little to do with lobbying.