I personally would out it as a high priority for me also.
Indeed. What connectivity I have at given home or apartment I'm looking at factors in where I move.
Here it's cable. I also look for places where I have control over the wires in case they need replacing so I can get good signals and QOS. Unlike my previous place where the manager was being a tight ass even though we offered to pay for everything and it would be an upgrade to the apartment. I had horrid TV picture, but my net surprisingly worked with the terrible signals I had.
The whole apartment block has since went up in flames. Guess the cable lines weren't the only thing to worry about.
I moved out about a year before it happened to a house where I was given complete control over wiring like cable and phone lines. My service is just about rock stable.
I'm factoring the same thing when I decide to move. I've lived in an area without any real high speed options other than the 3G card I use now. When I relocate I'm making sure I'll have a good HSI provider available.