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> This creates competition for things like pricing plans

If the common carrier is doing all the work, what’s the point of the companies on top? What do they add to the system besides cost?

Might as well get rid of them and have a national carrier.

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The companies on top provide end user customer support, varied pricing models ("unlimited" data vs pay by the GB, etc), and so on. It allows the common carrier to focus solely on the network hardware.

They also sometimes own the machines in the field closets. So, anyone can rent 1U + a bunch of fiber endpoints for the same price. What you do with the slots is up to you. If there's a problem with the power or actual fiber optics, the common carrier fixes it. (Like a colo, sort of.)

They add value by producing complicated and convoluted contracts which cannot be compared easily full of gotchas.

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