They are all media companies at core, who push all kind of idiocy on the Internet, from DRM to SOPA-like stuff and who support all kind of censorship. At least Verizon is just a communications company, even though their service isn't the best.
Ah, I thought you had something against coax itself :-). I agree, but pragmatically there just isn't a real alternative to the local cable monopoly. Maybe U-Verse, though AT&T isn't my favorite company either.
Why not? I'm all for fiber but really what I want is a fast symmetric connection. If someone can provide that over coax, that's fine with me.