COX vs Qwest

[mikiec]

Well, after 8 years of having free high speed internet, company paid, I have decided that all Holsum at home accounts to be terminated on Aug 31st, 2009

There are 13 of us getting it free. We all lose access, boy did some of them complain.

So now I'm looking at getting my own account. It seems that there are only 2 viable High Speed options here in the valley. Cox and Qwest.

Those of you that have had Qwest and changed to Cox, Why? Those of you that had Cox and changed to Qwest, why?

Mike

[Old Phart]

There is also Juno.com high speed internet, $24.95 a month, with no extra taxes or add ons. Let me know if you want it because I get $30. for a referral. Then, we can spend all of it on a nice Christmas gift for the AZ Cobras!

[vettestr]

Mike,
Although it has been about 5 years ago I went from Qwest to Cox and never looked back. It was due to service problems in my area that got me to change. Qwest had a problem with phone lines needing replacement in the entire area that caused noise, dropped signal and slow speeds. If it rained service sucked for 1 to 2 months after. The topper was my area had contracted 3rd party repairmen who passed the buck between them and us when trying to just get it fixed. Cox was cheaper with combined rates for TV and Phone / ISP.

I am now wondering if a Sat. card would not be a better deal if I can get in on a intro rate or some sale price. Only hang up is how charged for Data amount or total min. used ??? I know it would be faster and more portable and if bundled with cell phone service price is close.
Jeff C

[csx4910]

I started withQwest but after horrible service and slow speeds switched to cox 10 yrs ago and love it. Like with anyone provider, they aren't perfect but the speed is mucho better and the customer service MUCH better!!
Ron

[SandyC]

Haven't used Qwest but have had Cox for years and really nothing to complain about. It's fast and they have been responsive to support questions.

[Gary Stubbs]

Just switched from cox to quest. Faster and cheaper by half. Went to direct tv also for not quite half and alot better. I have heard that juno was good also. Got call waiting , id and voice mail and the fastest internet without going fiberoptic for under 50.00. Had the playboy channel for a day as an hype to buy, may want to rethink that option, nothing left to the imagination.
Gary

[Robert McLinden]

Mikiec,

Depends on what you need. I've had Cox since I arrived a few years ago. I still work for Northrop-Grumman's Baltimore division. The engineering I do requires a high speed line so I have Cox's fastest which when filtered through all of NGC's security filters slows down to about 6 Gps. This allows me to work with rather large engineering codes.

[Bob Broberg SPF667 460BB]

Mike, I have the Cox bundle package of web, TV and phone. TV is an extended basic with black box, phone is basic, and web is Premier. All work fine. Monthly bill is $128.93 plus tax and fees, total about $134. No movie channels.

AZ Bob

[Maricopa]

I have Cox net and two phone lines in the office and have been happy with the service for several years now.

[davids]

Mike, go with Cox....I had QWEST when they were in financial trouble years ago and it was a nightmare...Could it happen again??? Cox has been fantastic..No problems at all....Dave

[greg schroeder]

Here in Scottsdale, AZ for my home Cox cable I see around 21 to 23 MB per second download speed when tested on www.speedtest.net. Cox also offers reduced speed service which they say is limited to 1.5 MB per second. I have a number of modems set up with this service in rental property. I think the slowest Cox is better than the fastest Qwest if you're trying to run the internet with Qwest through old telephone wires. My parents tried Qwest in an older neighborhood and it was pretty much a joke.

[Gary Stubbs]

not saying one is better for the net or phone service. Price is the reason for change and tired of poor quality of cox on cable tv. They all run on the same hard lines to your house, so that is a non issue.

[Kramer]

Mike,

I am going to send you a PM b/c I don't think this is the proper forum for a dialogue on such a topic. I will however tell you I am an employee at Qwest in a unique position to help you with your decision. Even if you don't choose Qwest, I would be interested in your decision and why your choice was made.


Kramer (ps. I am not in sales

[vettestr]

Originally Posted by Gary Stubbs

not saying one is better for the net or phone service. Price is the reason for change and tired of poor quality of cox on cable tv. They all run on the same hard lines to your house, so that is a non issue.

Gary,
You got me thinking over your statement "All the same lines anyway) something was not clicking for me here. I had bad phone lines in my area including dropped connections that changing over to Cox did make go away.

Made me think about if they were the same or not. I do not know were it goes or ends up but phone and cable are very different lines in my hood anyway. Phone lines are underground with tall rectangular green junction box near Xformers here and there. The cable is on the poles and drops to each home. This seems back asswords don't it. Just a few streets away everything is underground with no poles and all underground.

[Maricopa]

Same here, I used to lose a phone line for for a day or so every time it rained really hard. Not so with Cox.

[Paul F]

Phone companies and cable companies only share poles or conduits underground. They do not share cables anywhere along the path to your house. They may both use separate telephone wires in the house for phone, but that would be up to you.

Geek alert. Telecom expert spewing worthless trivia.

On poles, the telephone company cables are the lowest. Cable company cables are just above (since they came later, they got stuck between the power cables above, thereby getting the best chance of getting hit when a power cable breaks and falls, saving the telco cable).

[Cobrabill]

Qworst is a joke.Always has been always will.
Nothing is faster than co-axial cable.except fiber and you won't see fiber to the house any time soon.

[vettestr]

Paul,
I live in an area that was developed as small farms and away from town by several miles. Many years later it was swallowed by growth but Reg's said no poles or overhead allowed for new construction. I would guess they have their own repeaters or antennas so from the home to the repeater/ant. would be the limits. All this to ask or confirm if different lines are used between phone and cable companies or jumbled together in most areas?

[Paul F]

No, they do not share wires or fibers. They may occupy the same pole, or run through the same group of conduits underground, but they do not share the same wires.

Geek answer:

Wireless is rarely used except in very rural areas for internet, phone, or TV (ignoring WiFi here, which is a different subject).

When they built your neighborhood, the telco and the cable company paid the developer to put their fiber/copper in the ground for their exclusive use.

Cable companies use coax or in more modern systems, fiber and coax. A fiber runs out to a neighborhood and supports 200-500 houses. From their, they run coax to the houses. This is a completely separate network from the telco.

Telcos use 3 configurations
- Twisted pairs (the stuff you see in the house)
- Fiber to the neighborhood and then twisted pairs to the house
- Fiber directly to the house.

[vettestr]

Thanks eom