The town we lived in previous to our current address had the cable agreement written into the town charter. The cable fee is collected as another utility. Town residents only had one choice, which was to add additional services.In our town, we have ATT - Uverse and Comcast. The neighboring town has WOW, with lower pricing and better customer service ratings. At a recent "Ask the Mayor" town hall meeting, a neighbor asked why we couldn't have WOW as a third provider and he answered that for now, our town's franchise agreements with ATT - Uverse and Comcast prevent that.
Your comment implies this kind of situation is rare. I sure wish it wasn't the case here as I'd love to have a third competitor. Perhaps it's because these three companies all offer TV in addition to HSI?
There are vast differences in the availability, quality and service level of internet around the country, and many areas with low quality service.