I think you're missing the differences between T1 and DSL/cable. T1 connections are for businesses with critical need for Internet connectivity at all times. As far as speed, T1 is 1.54 Mbps down & up and guaranteed & regulated to yield that speed. That is the raw data rate and doesn't include overhead, so what you are seeing (1.4 Mbps) is what you are paying for. If you have T1 and don't get that rate, you can complain to the regulatory commission of the FCC. If the situation is not corrected in a timely manner, the FCC can and will fine your phone company. On the other hand, Cable and DSL can give you speeds in excess of T1, but in most cases, if the data rates fall below what you expect & are paying for, you can only complain to your provider. For residential cable/DSL, you will very seldom get any guarantee of service speeds. If those ISPs do offer speed guarantees (usually only available for business accounts), you may be able to sue for breech of contract or switch to another provider.
Secondly, if you have T1 and the connection goes down, your ISP is required by law to respond in a timely manner (on the order of an hour or a few hours). If they fail to do so, they again can be fined. I know residential cable customers near where I live that have been out of service for over a week. The cable company is not regulated and doesn't have to meet any continuity of service guarantees. Residential DSL is also not regulated, and I've had outages lasting most of a work day on a couple of occasions. Again, I was not offered any continuity guarantee even with "business class" DSL.
Also, if you apply for a T1 connection, regardless of your location (including rural America, btw), your phone company is required to make every effort to supply it. They can charge "engineering fees" and local loop fees, which may put the cost out of reach of a small or medium-sized business, but even those fees are regulated. Also, since T1 uses the equivalent of 24 pairs of standard telephone lines, it is not effected by distance like DSL is. T1 should be available even in areas that cable and DSL does not serve.
