Public Infrastructure?
Do you mean the roads?
Cable companies pay franchise fees to the towns for that privilege. Cable companies pay property taxes on the equipment on those poles. The poles are not public property. They belong to the telephone and electric companies. Cable companies pay rent on those poles.
We built cable plant under the roads at our expense. We dug them up, we paid for the materials, labor, and police. The town gives up nothing. The town, usually, makes out like a bandit.
No, cable TV is not a utility. Get your power to your home from someone else? Nope. Get gas from someone else? Nope. Get entertainment services from someone else? Sure: Satellite, telephone companies, internet, redbox, etc.
You do not understand what a utility is.
cable companies pass on franchise fees to their subscribers.