Broadband IS a necessity in 2019
At least in the US and other rich countries. Banks are dumping the "touchtone tellers" because everyone goes online, and ATMs can only perform a limited set of functions. You think a town of 1300 people has a local branch for everyone's bank? Or any bank at all? Who wants to drive 20 minutes to the next town that has a branch just to check their mortgage balance, or order more checks?
That's just one example out of dozens people could come up with. Is it POSSIBLE to live without broadband? Sure. It is also possible to live without electricity, and most would consider it a necessity today. There were probably a lot of people claiming it isn't a necessity who were against rural electrification back in the day, because OMG they paid one or two percent more on their bills to help fund something they didn't use.
If everyone had this attitude, there would be no public schools (why should I pay to educate YOUR kids?) and no public roads (why should I pay to build roads in places I don't drive?) or a military (why should I pay to fight wars I don't agree with?) I suppose some hardcore libertarians read that and say "right on" but that isn't the world most of us want to live in.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
