There’s no way to install a snap except through Canonical’s snap store (or snap store proxy, which gets them from Canonical’s snap store).
They’re charging for kernel security live patches. They charge for LTS. If they get enough buy-in re: snaps, they’re going to do the only thing a for-profit company can do.
Red Hat and SUSE also charge for extended support, it’s literally the only fucking way to make money off of a distro
Canonical still offers 5 years standard at the enormous cost of 0.0$