[er35826]

I've lived in three metro areas, and only one had significant choices in provider, and that was a decade ago, 2004. I had the choice of three cable providers, and I was just on the edge of a local ISP's service area so I was able to get a decent price and great service.

I lived in northern Bothell, in Seattle, and I had one ADSL provider (not even 'fast' DSL) and one cable provider to choose from. In the metro area I live in currently, I've had exactly one DSL and one cable provider, and I've moved across the city and the variety didn't change.