As the owner of a small ISP, I'd like to figure out a way to provide to service to everyone regardless of their income. Internet access is critical at this point for even the most basic societal functions.
No, it isn't. I'm at a tipping point of canceling my Comcast cable/internet because I don't think it's worth $80/month. 90% of what I do online at home is for entertainment. And I would guess that is the same for most households that don't have a tech worker. (I am a tech worker, but I've finally trained myself to not take work home).
Really the only reason I keep it is because I don't want to deal with griping from the kids.
I should also mention that not everywhere has access to a public library that is free to use. I lived next to one of those districts - the next township (and town) over didn't have one. Since they didn't pay taxes into the library, they had to pay a yearly fee. Only pre-school children were exempt.
Phone books used to be the primary source of that information, but they are getting thinner and thinner as the years go on. Not to mention it's only updated once a year.