When it comes to cable / Internet / VOIP service, I guess I must be lucky. Really lucky.
I have WideOpenWest, and for the around $100 / Mo. that I spend, I get the digital HD channel package that I like, with 2 dual channel cable cards in the 2 TiVo's that I've purchased separately, as well as 16Mb/sec down 1 Mb/sec up Internet AND VOIP phone service with voice mail (with CC to email) from them. This is down $60 / mo when we had the house phone line with AT&T.
The Internet service is fast, and above all reliable. It's never down, the last time was like 2 years ago for a mere 30 minutes or something. I have my static IP address for hosting my personal domain, and they've never complained about my Linux firewall / mail / web server which connects the home network and the Internet.
I know that one reason that the service is so reliable is that I saw the brand new cable plant that Americast in the neighborhood. WOW bought that cable plant from AmeriCast when it couldn't compete in the cable TV business
Americast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. So I know that I have a very solid and clean cable plant on which my connection relies on. The installations were very well done. Little things like a small section of PVC pipe through which the coax was pulled, partially above ground, and partially below ground so that the weed whip wouldn't degrade the cable's insulation and fully shielded and fully grounded cable so there's less signal leakage and degradation.
On the rare occasions that I do need to call WOW support, the phone is answered quickly, by a human, that speaks American (yeah, OK English), who knows what's going on and what to do to get me back on line, or what the status and when I can expect to have service restored. Really wonderful people to work with, and before each time I hang up, I make sure to tell them that they should tell their boss that I liked speaking to an American. Guess what? The TiVo guys are the same way, BTW. Also why I've been with them for some 10 years or more.
All in all, I'd consider it a pretty decent package and a pretty decent experience. I'm not inclined to switch.
If I weren't so pleased with WOW, I'd have a choice of Comcast or AT&T U-Verse, but since WOW is so good, and at the price I'm willing to pay, I've not bothered to switch, as I don't believe that I could get a static IP from either AT&T or ComCast, and I know that Comcast's service isn't nearly up to the same standards, probably because they have the oldest cable plant around.
Now we have some friends that are on the opposite end of Detroit who also had WOW, but their experience isn't as good as mine. So how the municipality deals with the cable provider does in fact make a difference.