ORIGINAL: captskillet
Not everybody can afford DSL or cable [:@]
Plus its not available everywhere.
Some places have nice little telecoms that run out and improve their infrastructure whenever they can. Other places have telecoms that believe that infrastructure investment is generally a bad idea, it just encourages their customers to expect things from them.
"Look, you have a standard black rotary phone on a party line! And you want more? That should be all you will ever need! And $50 a month is a darn good price for that service!"
(Okay, I exaggerate - but contemplate that thought for a second, then shudder)
Fortunately, this corner of the world has glorious DSL and Cable available, and they have continuous price wars because of the competition between the two providers.
Its all good, but I know others aren't so lucky.