We actually declined to offer on a particular house that I loved back when we were house hunting because satellite was the only option for high speed internet. The way the story went, someone between that house and the rest of civilization refused to grant an easement to the cable company (or the utility provider for a gas line) so there was no cable (or natural gas). The house was in our school district! So bizarre.
Usually though, I hear of cases where you could GET cable, but you'd have to pay an arm and a leg to get them to run it up a long driveway, down a new street, etc. If that's the case it's probably cheaper than selling the house, etc.