I live in Phoenix.. Should I stick with Cox internet or switch to CenturyLink? (Scottsdale: apartment complex, how much)

[sgfernandez]

Hi there everyone. I have a couple questions regarding whether or not it's worth switching to CenturyLink from Cox (I live in Phoenix). I am a current subscriber to Cox Premier Internet (27 Mbps Downstream) which costs me about $66 dollars a month. Recently I've read about how great fiber optic internet is (such as Verizon FiOS, which isn't available in Phoenix) because it's a better, faster technology and costs less. From what I can see, CenturyLink (Qwest) advertises itself as "fiber optic", but do they really use true fiber optic technology like FiOS does? I noticed that their prices are a lot lower than Cox's, and they offer 40/20 Mbps internet for about $44 a month for the first year. My question is, is it worth it to cancel Cox and get CenturyLink? How much do their prices jump after the first 12 months? I'm also curious about the FIber Optics.

BTW - I live in an apartment complex and not a detached home, if that matters. Thanks for the help in advance!

[Pink Jazz]

CenturyLink VDSL2 is basically fiber to the node, copper to the house.

I noticed that there were more frequent outages at my brother's house using Cox in Tolleson than there are with CenturyLink here in Gilbert, but the comparison is flawed due to being in two different areas.

Keep in mind that to use this service, you will need a VDSL2-capable modem, which you generally won't find in big box stores such as Best Buy or Wal-Mart. CenturyLink offers the either Actiontec Q1000 or ZyXEL Q1000z.

[ReadyFreddy]

I'm not sure the differences currently but I can tell you I just switched from CenturyLink back to Cox (no reason, really) and my bill for internet and tv fell to less than half. But that's because Cox has big '1st 6 month' savings that shoot up to over double after that time. The salesperson told me to just call back in 6 months and renegotiate, since there's no contract.

Cox quoted me like $30/month for their 2nd fastest internet, I think. I said I needed the fastest for heavy data usage, but I wasn't like extreme gaming or anything. So I bet if you call them and tell them you're price shopping you could get your current $66/mo. bill dropped in half or so.

I don't find any difference in speed between the two.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

I'm not sure the differences currently but I can tell you I just switched from CenturyLink back to Cox (no reason, really) and my bill for internet and tv fell to less than half. But that's because Cox has big '1st 6 month' savings that shoot up to over double after that time. The salesperson told me to just call back in 6 months and renegotiate, since there's no contract.

Cox quoted me like $30/month for their 2nd fastest internet, I think. I said I needed the fastest for heavy data usage, but I wasn't like extreme gaming or anything. So I bet if you call them and tell them you're price shopping you could get your current $66/mo. bill dropped in half or so.

I don't find any difference in speed between the two.

FYI, our CenturyLink service is bundled with DirecTV.

Another thing that the OP should keep in mind is that cable is a shared connection, while DSL is a dedicated connection, thus DSL is immune to slowdowns during heavy local usage.

[ReadyFreddy]

Originally Posted by Andros 1337

FYI, our CenturyLink service is bundled with DirecTV.

Another thing that the OP should keep in mind is that cable is a shared connection, while DSL is a dedicated connection, thus DSL is immune to slowdowns during heavy local usage.

Interesting about shared cable!

Yeah, I have CenturyLink bundled with DirecTV currently, too.

I don't notice speed differences but at this house Cox was outage prone whereas Qwest/CL was not. I was told the Cox problem was a cable issue unique to my street but who the heck knows.

[Finger Laker]

I had horrible issues with Qwest - also shared with DTV (which created massive billing issues as well.......)

Not to mention when we dropped our landline and maintained out internet connection they tried to work us over a little bit which created an issue when I finally had to cancel the service.

I'll never do business with them again - that's for sure

However, the reason I had to cancel in the first place was because my connection would drop constantly .... so much time on the helpdesk, so much aggravation ...... we even bought a new computer and new modem and it didn't make any difference

I'd get through the prompts on my remote connection for work and the whole thing would drop .... I couldn't get anything done ........ made it hard for my wife as well when she was doing work from home.

So we switched to Cox - have had a much faster connection and no issues - price is about the same

[AZgarden]

I am just the opposite of Finger Laker. I got sick and tired of taking my black box back to Cox for a new one, cause of all the problems I was having with their product. My computer slowed down at times to a crawl and Cox never had any good answers for me. I bundled Direct TV with Century Link and have had no concerns since.

[ThatAnonGuy]

Comcast

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by ThatAnonGuy

Comcast

Comcast isn't available in the Phoenix area. Most of the area has Cox, although Apache Junction has Mediacom.

[aerodmb]

Any suggestions for north Scottsdale reliability for Internet only? Looking at service to stream movies and shows on my tv. I like Qwest pricing!