This doesn't surprise me, I live in San Francisco, and my neighborhood has only one option for internet connectivity: comcast cable. Well, that or tethering via my cell phone.
And Comcast in San Francisco (at least in the mission) offers a 50mbit connect that (when I've had it in the past) works better than advertised. I think peak downloads we saw were just over 7MB/s.
That Comcast is your only choice, and if you disagree with their business practices, usage caps, pricing, or 'network management' that the alternative is dial-up?
That's like arguing that electricity isn't available because you don't agree with how PG&E operates. Just because you don't want to give them your money doesn't mean they cease to exist.
The point remains that Comcast is still offering connections that are quite fast, and it's completely feasible (and expected) that they'd reach gigabit connects in the next 10 years.
Have you checked DSL options like AT&T or Speakeasy? I would be very surprised if that wasn't available in your area given that it goes over phone lines.
What's the problem?