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Review by njacobsen 
UPDATED: 105 days ago
member for 105 days, 0 visits, last login: 105 days ago
 Lakewood,Cuyahoga,OH
 $59 per month
 about 6 days
 "Premier package EXTREMELY fast, only lost connection twice in over two years"
 "Tech support is somewhat knowledgable but if you're a geek, not that great"
 "If you need business-quality uptime and speed, and are willing to pay, it's worth"
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I've had Cox Premier HSI for over two years now at my current residence. They offer different levels of server, and the Premier is the highest, boasting 25 Mbps downstream, 2Mbps upstream.
Normally, I'd chop the numbers above in half to get a realistic estimate, but I can attest to actual getting speeds very close to those above. I routinely get about 20 - 25 Mbps (about 2.5 - 3 MB/s) when downloading from local educational institutions (.edu's, which have lots of bandwidth), and on normal sites downloading, I get about 12 - 15 Mbps (about 1.5 - 2 MB/s) downstream and occasionally close to 20 Mbps.
As for upstream, I keep my media on a media server accessible from the web (although they block port 80, more on that later), and I'm able to stream relatively high bandwidth video from it, at over 1.5 Mbps sustained (about 200 KB/s), over 3 Mbps (over 300 KB/s) burst speeds.
Moreover, the connection speeds seem highly constant, and I rarely run into issues with the speed dropping, even during peak times like weekday evenings.
Uptime has been above and beyond what I've seen even compared to business class connections. Our service has only been down twice in over 2 years, and both times due to storm damage (not on our premises but on a central network hub), and each time it was resolved within 3 hours. That's about 99.97% uptime.
Price wise, it is a little steep, but considering the speed and uptime, I think it's worth it. I telecommute and work for a software firm, so having the ability to VPN and transfer files quickly is important, and this connection more than does the job. I have seen it advertised for only $44.99 / month now on Cox's site though.
Monthly limits and quotas are, they say, 50GB/month, but I've routinely gone over that, and I've never had a problem with them. The only time I had a problem was when downloading a fake Torrent file put up by the MPAA and having my IP info sent to Cox. In that case, Cox redirected me to a page saying I'd stop and promise to never do it again and delete the file, bla bla bla, and then after I checked a box and hit OK, I was able to access the internet again. Since I've started using encryption for all BitTorrent connections and a blacklist, I've never had this problem.
Tech support is good for run-of-the-mill problems and questions, but for more advanced questions, it leaves something to be desired.
(((((( Geek Stuff ))))))
They have a fairly liberal port-blocking system, blocking incoming requests from ports 80 (HTTP) and 25 (SMTP), plus a variety of the Windows RPC ports (not of much interest unless you would want to access a windows share over the internet, but that's a huge security risk anyways.
They do NOT block port 443 (HTTPS) so you can run an HTTPS web server if you want to run one, and now SSL certs are free with a $10 domain registration if you get one from www.namecheap.com or a similar site, and although they require that you install an intermediate cert on the server, it makes no difference to the browser, since the trust chain will go up the ladder to a standard CA cert. Additionally, SSH isn't blocked, and I believe (but am not certain) that RDP (3389) isn't blocked either.
Although static IPs aren't available on residential connections (I asked) the DHCP server the modem uses seems to renew the same IP for long periods of time, and even when I've disconnected the modem to move it for about an hour, when I plugged it back in, the new DHCP lease had the same IP If you need to access your machines, you can use something like namecheap.com which allows for DynDNS-style updates for sub-domains of the registered domain, e.g., you can have www.nates-home-network.com always point to the most current IP.
As I mentioned above for torrents, as long as you use encrypted torrents and the IP blacklist, you should be fine. Additionally, they don't do much packet shaping on torrent traffic. I've noticed slightly slower torrent download speeds during the day time, but that's more likely simple network congestion than shaping. Outside of that, I've never noticed anything that indicates packet shaping or connection issues due to congestion.
One thing though, calling their tech support is pretty useless if you have a real question (e.g., "Can I get a static IP?" or anything more technical). If you run into a regular issue, e.g., connection problems, regardless of what you tell them about your skill level and what you've already tried, they will patronize you.
((((( Summary )))))
All things considered, this is by far the best ISP I've ever been with. In fact, I would say that average download speeds rival that of many universities, which are often part of the backbone of the internet. Uptime and reliability rivals that of a commercial-quality cable connection and only slightly less than a dedicated connection (e.g., T1, T3, OC3).
If you need high download speeds and upload speeds, high reliability and connection speed consistency, and are willing to pay a little more than a standard entry-level cable HSI connection, I would highly recommend Cox.
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Review by scholztec
UPDATED: 106 days ago
member for 2.8 years, 140 visits, last login: 1 days ago
Scottsdale,Maricopa,AZ
$46 per month
about 7 days
"Reasonable speeds at an OK price."
"No competition means no motivation."
"The best you can get, not the best there is."
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In most of metro Phx, your broadband options are either Cox or Qwest. Unfortunately, these are not very good options. Back when the world was new and Cox was still @Home, service was great and competition was fierce. Because Qwest has little to no intention of innovating or upgrading, it gives Cox an easy opportunity to rest on its laurels. Yes, Cox is faster than Qwest at equivalent prices. However, customer service has declined significantly since those early days. The lack of competition means that Cox can get away with pretty lousy speeds and not have to worry about losing customers.
My price reflects Cox's Preferred tier, which is the mid-level. Speeds are 10/1mb up/dwn (without powerboost shenanigans). My downstream is great - never below 9, and often above 15. Upstream sucks, however. Usually right at 1mb, never higher.
Order and install was simple. I got a free pro install (thanks to a local promo). I already had a modem, so the tech just had to punch thru a block wall and run some coax. Up and running within a week of order.
The thing that strikes me about Cox shouldn't be a surprise - it's a free market economy, and with no competition, Cox has little reason to do more. It would be wonderful to see Verizon rip thru Phx with FiOS. I'd jump ship in a heartbeat.
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Review by gleffler
UPDATED: 106 days ago
member for 6.4 years, 126 visits, last login: 106 days ago
Norfolk,Norfolk City,VA
$44 per month (12 month contract)
about 18 days
"Service is rocksolid and FAST"
"Installers can be surly and incompetent"
"Best deal if you can self-install"
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I signed up for Cox after reviewing my options of slow (768/128) VZ DSL, or Cavalier (who wouldn't give me a speed estimate without phone service) DSL. FIOS is not available in Norfolk because Verizon is in a pissing match with the city gov't, so those were my choices.
I saw that Cox advertises their Preferred service with Power Boost (rated at 5000/2000.) Upstream rarely gets to the advertised rate on several different speed tests, but downstream is generally even faster than that on small, burstable downloads (like from the iTunes Store, for example.)
You can see speed test results: »/im/76302898/38262.png
I pay $43.95 a month plus taxes for the service. There are allegedly discounts available for bundling and all that, and the first year I had service I had a $5 discount applied per month for maintaining a contract.
The self-install kit cost $5, but my apartment wasn't wired for cable service, so I had to have a professional install done. This was quoted as costing $79, plus $40 to purchase the cable modem, but Cox agreed to give me the install, modem, and ATA (for phone service) for free if I agreed to add their phone service.
The first two installers that came out were generally incompetent and were both from the same subcontractor (Cable Communications & Engineering), one time they didn't have the appropriate tools to access the pole to run a drop (when they were aware I needed entirely new service,) and another time they refused to accept my landlord's approval letter, but the final installer that actually installed services was from Triwire, and did a much better job - thoroughly testing the line and the quality before asking me to sign off on it.
I was supplied with a Motorola SurfBOARD 5120 and some sort of ATA that doesn't plug into the house wiring (ie: phones only plug into it.) I won't use the phone service, but I assume it works, as the link lights are on on the ATA device.
Cancelling the phone service was a nightmare that required speaking to 4 different individuals and ultimately threatening to cancel all of my services; but it was doable. The Internet service has PowerBoost now and is fast and has very little downtime.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with this service. The only better things would be to coordinate installers better, but other than that, it is worth every penny of the price, and I'm very happy.
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Review by kooftspc7
UPDATED: 108 days ago
member for 2.9 years, 90 visits, last login: 3 days ago
Laguna Niguel,Orange,CA
$75 per month (51 month contract)
about 4 days
"able to access internet"
"horrible speeds and expensive for theoretical speed tier"
"if you have other options you may want to consider them before committing to cox"
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i dont have any alternative to cox for cable internet. so naturally when i moved here i became a cox customer. the package i subscribed to was "premiere" 20mb/1.5mb ($69.99/month) but i have not seen those speeds in nearly 8 months. i've been with cox for 5 years now and still no bad experiences with tech support.i was originally given a toshiba modem but later they replaced it with motorola SB5101N.
I have always been satisfied with cox hsi service until late 2008 when i noticed a significant change in speed consistency. i have been trying to ignore it for the last 8 months but i dont like the idea of paying for something i'm not getting. this being compounded with the fact that the monthly price has increased 15 dollars since i first signed on with cox has left me less than willing to continue service if any competition (hopefully verizon fios) arrives here locally
EDIT: i have absolutely changed my mind about cox. they are no longer even tolerable if you are looking to do more than simply browse the net and check email
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Review by memayer
UPDATED: 108 days ago
member for 8.4 years, 932 visits, last login: 15 days ago
Corona Del Mar,Orange,CA
$45 per month
"Speed has improved to about 24700/1048 consistently"
"No major complaints -- except recent (unjustified) price increase"
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I don't use Windows, so I hardly use Cox's internet software, except for their Webmail server which works fine when I am traveling.
Customer service is quite responsive and the technicians knowledgeable, even for Unix-based systems like mine. I only had to call twice over the last few years.
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Review by rizwan602
Posted: 109 days ago
member for 5.6 years, 869 visits, last login: 8 days ago
Gilbert,Maricopa,AZ
$55 per month
"Super fast and reliable connection to the internet!"
"Sometimes the cable modem reboots and tech support thinks they need to send out a tech, but then it starts working days later."
"Great connection, better then Qwest. Don't believe the hype Qwest says about sharing the internet on cable. Its fast!"
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Connection is great almost all of the time but sometimes my cable modem starts to synch out and reboot itself (or reset/whatever). Calling tech support on that gives you first level techs who think the solution is to "roll a truck" to your location to see if cabling is the issue - but its not since I have not made changes and its a new house with internet working for the last 2 years just fine. So its "great" when it works but tech support has no belief in what you have to say about it.
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Review by (hidden by request)
Posted: 114 days ago
(review was emailed from domain cox.net)
Silver Springs,Marion,FL
$50 per month
"Works well for long periods of time"
"Down is down for 2 to 10 days"
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Internet is solid and close or better than promised. Cable TV pricing is
subject to high annual increases ( 18-22%) Keep the Internet lose the cable for TV
Satellite for TV has been uptime with few outages over 5 minutes
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Review by halhock
UPDATED: 122 days ago
member for 2.7 years, 40 visits, last login: 13 days ago
Manhattan,Riley,KS
$60 per month (12 month contract)
about 1 days
"Speed to Price ratio is good. Service is reliable if you dont P2P."
"Live in a college area saturated by users. Never get the speeds advertized."
"When bundling in our simple TV it is the best value. No need for the phone co."
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Currently here in Manhattan, KS (home to Kansas State University) we have a choice of At&t or Cox. U-Verse is not ready yet and there is a wireless internet provider called KansasNet but they are pretty small. Our connection is in college village (my name for the rentals that college students live in east of campus) so we have a large number of users in the area.
We go with the mid-range "preferred" package and bundle with basic cable (non digital). They have boosted the rates again to 12.5 down (with powerboost) and 1 Up (in Mbps) but we never see that with our number of connected users. We did the self install and we have been using the same I have been here. We did have some issues when we first hooked it up and we called out a tech. He found that the splitters in the supply box and some of the connectors in the house were causing poor resistance and replaced them. Since then we have had 0 problems. We use the DIY WebStar by ScientificAmerican box and it has served us well.
Provided we do not do much P2P (or other bandwidth intensive processes, FTP, Remote Control, Hulu excessively) our connection is rock solid. If we do to much in a month we begin having our connection dropped for periods of time and we have to constantly reset the modem. Overall I am thoroughly satisfied with the service. It likely is the most logical choice for college students in this town as we use as cell phone and Cable + Internet makes sense.
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Review by joe1024
Posted: 122 days ago
member for 123 days, 0 visits, last login: 123 days ago
Ramona,San Diego,CA
$39 per month (12 month contract)
about 3 days
"Bandwidth improves all of the time, sometimes reaching bursts of 10Mb/s."
"New services webpage system is poor, old was good."
"Good company, reliability excellent, continuous improvement"
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Have always used basic broadband, as bandwidth has always been acceptable and reliable.
Cost is competitive, although not the best.
I had to help the install tech. when he arrived, as his knowledge was limited to broadband cable technology, with very limited computer background. However, he arrived on time and we got the job done in about 2 hours. Some technicians, particularly the contracted technicians, need more education.
The original Linksys cable modem (privately owned) was replaced by a battery backed-up Motorola SBV5220 cable modelm (ISP owned) due to California regulations requiring battery back-up on phone service (VoIP).
Company internet service has been reliable and has demonstrated good performance. Cable TV performance is only fair, with a poor on-screen menu system and less than great On-Demand movie choices. HD is in 1080p format. VoIP service has been generally reliable. The product and support web-site presence is presently poor (lots of pages, not much content and poor navigation). It is possibly in transition to a new format (I hope).
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Review by ocmacman
UPDATED: 123 days ago
member for 8 years, 26 visits, last login: 105 days ago
Scottsdale,Maricopa,AZ
$49 per month
about 7 days
"Consistent 10mb connection no down time in last year"
"Sold as 20mb connection"
"Consistent connection I've never needed tech support in one year"
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The connection is good, no down time in one year also no need for tech support for me at least in last year. Functions well no complaints, better performance than I have ever had with DSL. Sold as a 20mb connection but consistent 10mb performance. Upload performance is sold as 5mb and the constant is around 4mb so I can't complain. I like the package it includes my phone TV and all the others. Would like to see it live up to the sales promises but am satisfied for the consistency.
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