Econ 201: Oligopolies suck

Basic economic theory explains that oligopolies are inefficient, and should be avoided in favor of a free market with many many competitors. In college, we even mathematically "proved" it (with a few simplifying assumptions, of course)! Even if it is a fact, it's still great to see real-world examples that prove my old Econ 201 prof right.. there have been a few in the news recently: DRM and Net neutrality

What's missing in both cases is a good dose of competition. Unfortunately it's the innovator's dilemma again: their significant market power makes these companies lazy and gives them the ability to do as they please. Telcos can provide over-priced, slow service to users, and then can threaten to charge web companies for being able to interact with their customers. The entertainment industry can impose DRM'ed content on all of us, essentially taking full control over how content is used and distributed. Both of these issues would go away immediately if consumers had viable alternatives.

Where the heck are all the companies that are trying to disrupt the current state of these industries? I can think of many that have tried, but none that have made a lasting impact.