Oh I'm sure it's more competetive in other markets. Here, we have ONE cable company (Charter), and they seemed to be trying to p!ss off their customer by passing down rate hikes every couple of months. At the time I ditched them, the 'cable plus digital' package was $68.55 a month with one digital cable box. Now, I get better quality, more channels on THREE TV's for right around $50. I'm much happier with it.
As for the wiring, if it's a newer house, or had the cabling run in the last 10 yrs it shouldn't be a problem. Mine works like a dream.
I'm not familiar with Charter, but I know Adelphia is pretty bad.
The choice of cabling is usually up to the homebuilder. Since RG59 is usually cheaper than RG6, that is what gets installed.
Some cable companies have gone as far as to supply RG6 to homebuilders to use in place of the RG59 or other crap that they would have normally installed. My house (built in 1994) has quad-shield RG6 in it because the cable company supplied it to the builder.