Review by TheNerdGirl 
UPDATED: 1 year ago
member for 2.9 years, 222 visits, last login: 13 days ago
 Topeka,Shawnee,KS
 $42 per month (12 month contract)
 about 10 days
 "Download powerboost"
 "No upload powerboost, surfing is slow, and problems with DNS"
 "Better than no HSI, but I wish there was an alternative"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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Since the last review in May, my service has gradually been getting slower and slower since those godawful Powerboost commercials. When I called TS recently, because I couldn't take the slow speeds of 200-500Kbps anymore, the tier 1 rep wanted to send out a field tech. Hahahaha! Yeah right. I told him I had a tech out sometime in August, and he couldn't find anything wrong on my end. Then, he wanted to send me to tier 2. I thought, "What good would that do?" Slow speeds would start in the early afternoon and last until 11 at night. On the weekend, service is slow all weekend long when there's nothing to watch on TV. Pings to the Default Gateway are high during these times, and I don't have anything bandwidth hogging running, so it points to overloaded problems. Too many people
in Topeka with computers and laptops, but not enough bandwidth to go around. I used the archive page on this site, enter in 666xx and checked around town, other people aren't getting what the speeds they are getting from Cox, either. So it's not just me. Unless you want to get online at wee hours, or the middle of the night, you will get Powerboost. But at peak time or weekends? Forget it.
0000Speed test0000
Last Result:
Download Speed: 2905 kbps (363.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 561 kbps (70.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
I know 2905 isn't bad, but that's kind of slow. Also, along with the speed problems and high latency, pages just take forever to change over. You have to keep clicking and clicking, low and behold, the page will finally load up. I changed DNS servers and that did nothing. I understand this is a 8/512 cable connection, I do, but 3Mb/s? What? I do NOT mind it's a up to 8Mb/s connection, but unless give me 5 or 6Mb/s during this time and weekends. Oh, yea, I contact support via email and phone back in July, it did nothing after going back and forth with their reps via email. Don't fret, speeds would get even more ridiculously slower than that when 7 or 8 rolls around, and there's hardly anything worth watching on TV. At peak time, no matter if it's weekends or weekdays, speeds would slow down to 1.5-2Mb/s and, really, it is under 1Mb/sec as the evening goes on and on. Ugh. AT&T can't find my address in their databases so I am stuck with Cox HSI for now. I would love to get anything way
faster than Cox HSI.
My PC is a Dell Dimension 5150 2.8GHz Pentium 4, 512MB DDR2(about to up the RAM to 2GB soon), 80GB sata hard drive, Windows Media Center 2005, etc. It's not my PC when I scanned for nasties, defragged, and other computer maintenance regularly. I think my PC isn't the cause of the problem. It's the service.
August 2008
I'm getting powerboost download and everything is capped at 10Mb/s down and 768Kb/s up. Cox HSI cost $45 per month. I'm not getting powerboost UL. I contact
a tier 2 rep on here and he's going to get local involved.
October 2008
Cox fixed powerboost UL. I am now getting DL and UL powerboost of 30-34Mb/sec down and 2-4Mb/sec up off peak, 18-30Mb/sec down and 1Mb/sec to 4Mb/sec peak time. I was reading my local newspaper online about Cox raising PPV fees and
changing lineups. This user, whatup, said this (probably went to the city council meetings):
"COMCAST is coming to Topeka and then we will have a choice."
You have to scroll down but it's on
»cjonline.com/stories/102908/bre_···es.shtml. I know darn well Cox and Comcast aren't going to compete against each other, it's most likely my town's cable services are sold to Comcast. AT&T is going to bring their U-Verse
services in March or April of 2009. I do NOT know when Comcast is here. Most likely winter 2008 or early 2009 because Comcast doesn't have to do upgrades. Cox already did upgrades. I am sure my town landed a great deal with Comcast. Topeka always seem to change cable companies every ten years. Cox has been the longest that they seem to hold on to one cable company, going on ten years in three months. You should be thankful you have Cox. I'm going to be stuck with Comcast. Don't you guys feel sorry for me?
Followup comments:  sgier
join:2002-06-30
Rose Hill, KS
| Slow Connection I was a big time RoadRunner user and then Cox when they took over. I noticed the same thing you did the reduction in speeds at peak times.
One year ago I switched to DSL since they offered 19.95 the first year, COX was 39.95. I average 2450 dn and 384 up ALL THE TIME.
The contract expires in June and they offered me the same rate of 19.95. The 2450 dn speed is faster then COX'S 1684 dn during the peak evening times. I play online games and the ping speed is very important for fast action games. DSL bet COX on the ping speed also.
I believe they are over selling the nodes in the neighborhood and did not respond favorably to my complaints on the speed reduction. | |
| 
BronsCon
join:2003-10-24
Cleveland, OH
 ·Cox HSI
| Comcast?!?! Please, no! A choice between Comcast or Cox?
Stay where you are. Especially once there's competition, COX will be better for you.
In my area (not at my address, but they don't need to know) there is Time Warner, Cox and a third company that resells both of them (I can't think of the name right now). Time Warner seems to provide fairly decent service in the area, from what I hear, but their pricing is off. The other company simply resells services, with 10% tacked onto the bill and a "call us, we'll call them, then call you back" support policy.
Cox, for what it's worth, has done nothing but improve their services in the 3 years I've been with them. Add to that that I actually pay *LESS* now than I did then and you'll begin to see why I suggest staying with them.
Once there's competition in the area, service WILL improve and prices WILL drop. Cox will make the first move and they're willing to make a little less on you than the competition would, simply to not lose your business.
Contrast that to Comcast, with whom I've had service several times in the past. Every time, as soon as DSL became available to me, I made the jump. Several times, I had to use a free dialup because speeds on Comcast were literally in the single-digit kbps. No resolution. No credit to my bill. No apology. No more. If they come to my area, I will smile only because I know that Cox will, once again, improve my service and lower my bill. It's just what they do. | |
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