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Time
Premium Member
join:2003-07-05
Irvine, CA

Time

Premium Member

Data Plan Over Limit

Just curious, how far over the limit do you need to be before Cox starts becoming angry? I am disabled as a result of Multiple System Atrophy, so I have nothing to do but be on the internet currently. I stream all of my video, but I have Cox Premier TV for certain shows. I have the 400 GB limit, and surpassed it by 70 GB for the last two months due to extensive streaming and Github activity. I can't seem to locate an option for increasing by 100-200 GB so I have more leeway.

TBH, the bandwidth limitation for Ultimate seems a bit low for today's standards, what with all the streaming and stuff.

Hard Harry7
join:2010-10-19
Narragansett, RI

Hard Harry7

Member

said by Time:

how far over the limit do you need to be before Cox starts becoming angry?

There is no static amount. It depends on the bandwidth/congestion in your area and a number of other factors Cox keeps close to it's chest.
said by Time:

I can't seem to locate an option for increasing by 100-200 GB so I have more leeway.

There is no way. Your only option is to increase your tier. Might want to look into Cox Business. Even their lowest plans have unlimited bandwidth. There is also Gigablast, which if available in your area has a 1TB cap.

»store.cox.com/store/orde ··· ox?hsi=w
Azlen
join:2010-05-03
Peoria, AZ

Azlen to Time

Member

to Time
My kids stream Disney Jr on their Roku's and turn off the TV but never the stream so my data usage goes through the roof and I don't even get overage emails any more. 70Gb over is nothing. Don't worry about it.
nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ

nonymous (banned) to Hard Harry7

Member

to Hard Harry7
I would upgrade to gigablast at current promo pricing in heart beat. No reason to upgrade from preferred to another tier with little to show for it and pricing close to gig promos. So s%#%& cox until my area is upgraded if ever and gets the nice three year promo price lock. Why should I subsidize their special customers.

Hard Harry7
join:2010-10-19
Narragansett, RI

Hard Harry7

Member

said by nonymous:

No reason to upgrade from preferred to another tier

OP has Ultimate with 400GB already. I was just saying there is no way other than changing your tier to change your cap. I think getting a CB account might save OP some money, but it depends on if 3 product bundles can be maintained. 30x10 at 74$ with unlimited bandwidth vs 150x20 for 79-99$ with 400GB cap.

sniperboyz
join:2009-10-30
Portsmouth, VA
Technicolor CGM4331
Ubiquiti UDM-Pro
Ubiquiti U6-Pro

sniperboyz to Time

Member

to Time

Usage
I got same issue as you have. I have like 4 people who using Netflix, gaming (includes online and downloadable from PS Store), 5 computers, 2 PS4s, 2 PS3s, videophone, 3 iPads, 4 smartphones, 2 iPod Touch, and also server. I see the most using of data is Netflix I seen. Come on Cox, 300GB is not enough and too small for 100/10.

DarkOneX
@cox.net

DarkOneX

Anon

I run into the same issue every month, they used to send me those overage emails but I realized I haven't got any in like the past 6 months even though I go over. More than a couple of times I hit about 800GB and just like you it's from the plethora of devices we have in the house and all the streaming/gaming we do, 300GB is just way too little and the minute they decide to start charging I guess I'll have to just get rid of internet and become a lumberjack or something.

sniperboyz
join:2009-10-30
Portsmouth, VA

sniperboyz

Member

Imagine that 100Mbps connections would eat up pretty fast with 300GB Cap. Wish there would be unlimited or more than 500GB so it would give us plenty to watch Netflix or streaming at various vendor (Amazon, Redbox, etc.)
Sentinel
Premium Member
join:2001-02-07
Florida

Sentinel to Time

Premium Member

to Time
I am watching this thread with great enthusiasm because I am very very close to cutting the cable, but I really have no idea how much data I would use.

Assuming that a standard TV show (1 hour) is roughly 4GB, then if you watch only 2 shows a day that would be 240 GB a month. And that does not include any other internet usage. Right now I have a 250 cap so I think I would definitively go over.

So I am curious for those of you that are aware of what you use; how much is fairly average for a regular person? Assuming a person that would stream a few movies a month a few TV shows plus regular internet surfing. Add in some music and other junk I'm guessing the average user is probably in the 500 GB a month range at least.
Fubar
join:2015-01-27
Phoenix, AZ

1 recommendation

Fubar

Member

said by Sentinel:

I am watching this thread with great enthusiasm because I am very very close to cutting the cable, but I really have no idea how much data I would use.

Assuming that a standard TV show (1 hour) is roughly 4GB, then if you watch only 2 shows a day that would be 240 GB a month. And that does not include any other internet usage. Right now I have a 250 cap so I think I would definitively go over.

So I am curious for those of you that are aware of what you use; how much is fairly average for a regular person? Assuming a person that would stream a few movies a month a few TV shows plus regular internet surfing. Add in some music and other junk I'm guessing the average user is probably in the 500 GB a month range at least.

Mine ended yesterday and I used 410+GB.

That is pretty much my average on Preferred.

But I have cable with a couple premiums.

If I cut cable it would likely be a lot higher.

I have received usage warning almost every month for as long as I can remember.

Knock on wood, but nothing has ever happened.

And I looked at a couple hour shows and they are more like 5gb.

However if you torrent shows they are encoded at mp4 at usually 250-350mb in size.

Philmatic
Premium Member
join:2000-07-15
Oxnard, CA

2 recommendations

Philmatic to Time

Premium Member

to Time
I've gone over the quota by 2TB once or twice, you'll be fine.
Sentinel
Premium Member
join:2001-02-07
Florida

Sentinel to Fubar

Premium Member

to Fubar
Thanks for the info both of you.
said by Fubar:

And I looked at a couple hour shows and they are more like 5gb.

I was basing this on one time I watched 2 one hour shows and then the next day I checked the data usage meter and it said 4 GB. One show was from FX.com and the other was History.com. The Americans and Vikings. I don't know how they encode.
Maltz
join:2011-01-08
Fayetteville, AR
Calix 844G
Netgate SG-2100
Ubiquiti U6-LR

Maltz

Member

Netflix estimates 3GB/hr for high quality (1080p) and 7GB/hr at Ultra HD 4K. I imagine most such sites are similar. And you can manually set quality settings, too, so you could tell it to always use Medium quality, for example. That's 0.7GB/hr, which is roughly DVD quality. Depending on your tastes and the size of the device you're viewing on, that could easily be a good balance.

»help.netflix.com/en/node/87

But yeah, the bottom line is that Cox really doesn't enforce the caps unless you're causing traffic problems on your node. I don't stream a lot of video and rarely go over, but the few times I have, I only ever got an email notice once, and that was the end of it.
qbanb8582
join:2012-08-09
Pensacola, FL

qbanb8582 to Time

Member

to Time
A couple years ago I had my service stopped because I went over 3 months in a row after the email warning. I think I had preferred(200GB) tier at the time, then I upgraded to Premier which I think was either 250 or 300.

I've had Ultimate now for over year I have gone over the cap probably 9 out of the 12 months and nothing so far. Now that I have Ultimate I don't care anymore. I'm going to use my service the way I see fit. If that means downloading alot off of Steam or watching alot of HD streaming content then so be it.

Termites
@cox.net

Termites to sniperboyz

Anon

to sniperboyz
Should there be a cap/Limit?

NOOOOOO.....
Sentinel
Premium Member
join:2001-02-07
Florida

Sentinel

Premium Member

It would be great if everything in life were free and unlimited. However since the world doesn't work that way it is good to remember an economic statement that "anything that is not in infinite supply is rationed".

"Unlimited" bandwidth will come when the cost of supplying the amount of bandwidth that a typical user consumes coincides with the cost to deliver that amount of bandwidth. Much like minutes on cell phones did. Cell companies used to charge per-minute when the cost of minutes used on average outpaced the cost for such minutes. When the cost of supplying such minutes dropped to the point where it matched how much people were using, then they could say that you had "unlimited" voice calling.

So lets say that right now the average user consumes 1000 GB per month. But it costs the supplier $100 to deliver that. They can't charge that because people will freak out. When that cost drops to say $70 then the company will say that you have "unlimited" data. But you don't really. What you really have is about 1000 GB which is what the average person uses.