 Review by tubbynet 
UPDATED: 3 days ago
member for 189 days, 268 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Mesa,Maricopa,AZ
 $45 per month
 about 14 days
 "Mostly reliable, good solid upload speed, downlink speed generally works well"
 "Often oversold nodes, resulting in bandwidth below what is promised, though isn't too big of an issue w/ support"
 "Speed (9m/512k) is great for price, as long as you can accept a little downtime or slower speeds"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
[UPDATE 7/2008]
I have been playing for a few months with the upgraded package with the bundle. After complaining a bit to the local COX techs on the board, my numbers have fallen in line with where they should be. I have since removed my ScientificAtlanta WEBstar in lieu of a Motorola SB5120. I have seen more stability and the Motorola seems to handle unfavorable signal levels a little better.
Since my last update, COX has also bumped up the tiers offered with 12/1 now becoming 15/1.5 with PowerBoost on both upload and download. While my download is consistently around 15 (only drops to 12 during peak hours), my PowerBoost on the downstream doesn't kick as hard as it used to. However, this is just because of an overcrowded node and its not affecting my internet service much (PowerBoost only works for a few megabytes worth of transfer then cuts down to normal speeds and most of my UL/DL are 10+ megs. Overall, I have been happy with COX, though I will be moving to a new residence in a week and a half and will be curious to see how well the transfer of services goes.
============================================================
[UPDATE 2/2008]:
Its the 17th of the month, and I have just rechecked my speed using several online speedtest tools. I have now officially been upgraded to the 12/1 package. While the upload has seemed very steady and a welcome upgrade, I have yet to see more than 12meg from my line down (where my 9/512k package was delivering over 12 most of the day).
My packet loss is very little (if at all) and all of my original services seem to be holding up. I will report later when I know a little more about what Cox has promised me.
============================================================
In my area, only Cox and Qwest were available in terms of HSI providers. Have had (and implemented) DSL in the past and have never been a fan, plus not a big fan of Qwest. Preferred tier (currently subscribed) exceeded the most expensive tier from Qwest and was ~50% behind in terms of upload speed. Cost effective choice was Cox.
I am part of the bundle package (connection 60 phone, HD DVR, and preferred tier) through Cox. While I pay ~$140/month (slated for a $10 increase next month with a bump up to the premier tier [12+m/1m] as well), the service delivers. I purchased the ScientificAtlanta WebStar modem through Cox. Pretty standard fare, but being a Cisco-fanboy (I deploy $2 million+ in Cisco gear a year) I figured it was OK. The my professional installation was free, though I had to wait ~2 weeks or so for the actual installer to show at the scheduled time. Had it not been free, I would have been more than capable to install it myself, I just like "plausible deniability". My tech was very helpful and was prompt and courteous. He gave me his cell phone number and hours of work if I had any questions or problems.
After the installation of the cable services and verification of function, I put in my Cisco 871w and everything was up and running.
I host several services (FTP, VPN) out of my house, as well as having between 5 and 10 computers running off the same connection (depending on what I have to do for work) and I have been happy with performance. There are times of slowdowns and in the year and a half of service I have had two outages of about 4 hours each, but the service works as promised around 85% of the time and slower than promised about 14% (the leftover 1% is the downtime).
All in all, while I feel the prices could be a little better...everything has worked as promised.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Cox HSI |
|
Cox HSI
(83)
(55)
·
·