Lamplighter--
I fired Comcast a long time ago. They're evil. This is a perfect example. No competition, therefore no incentive to lure you to their product. Take it or leave it. F*ck them.
I don't have AppleTV. I *DO* have a
Roku. I've got a few actually. I can't recommend them highly enough. They stream my Netflix, and many other channels (as does the Xbox 360 and the PS3). I have more of my own life back that I used to pay in $$$$ to Comcast and in attention I used to pay to commercials. You've no idea how much advertising there is... and there's a lot.
I don't have an idea for your isp, you *do* need a line and maybe you can use DSL from the local phone company. But even using Comcast for internet services and not for cable tv would be an improvement by my standards.