Review by deadzoned 
UPDATED: 326 days ago
member for 3.7 years, 1501 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Baton Rouge,East Baton Rouge,LA
 $49 per month
 about 4 days
 "Fast and Reliable"
 "Hidden setup fees/No clear, concise, explanation of setup/install fees"
 "As long as you are careful, this is a pretty good deal."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I ordered the 4down/512up package with Cox online as soon as I moved to Baton Rouge (About six weeks ago). The same day that I ordered, I received e-mail confirmation of my order which was the following:
-The 4/512 High speed internet package (39.99 a month)
-Self install (No charge)
I ordered just the High speed internet and no television service as we had opted to go with DirectTV instead. No mention was made on their website or in the confirmation e-mail of extra fees for self-install setup or for not having any cable television with the order. The next day comes and I receive a call from Cox confirming my order and letting me know that the earliest day an installer could come out would be in two weeks.
Still working good and going strong. No complaints really. No downtime at all other than the obvious hurricane thing that happened last year. 
Huh? I informed them that I had ordered it online and that I chose the self install option. The CS rep said this was routine and that it was done even with self-installs. Well it got me to wondering so I asked the cs rep what the charge for this would be. She told me 45 bucks. Whoa!! Heh, anyway I informed her that we just moved in, that the cable modem was in the same exact location that the previous owners had theirs at and that no installer should need to come and "check the line". She was insistent that it was indeed needed so I escalated to a supervisor. I eventually got the 45 fee "waived" and order was restored.
The next day, I get another call from Cox and they inform me that the initial price I was quoted for the High speed internet was wrong and that it would actually be 49.99 a month instead. I questioned them about this and apparently I need to have at least basic cable in order to get the 39.99 rate. Go figure. This is apparently policy although I consider it a fairly underhanded and unfair practice designed basically to punish those customers that choose another provider for their TV service. I fought this, but not really hard as it seemed to be a losing battle. So the rate actually turned out to be 49.99 a month instead.
I receive another call the next day; this one was from someone higher up whose job is apparently to make me feel better about not getting what I was originally quoted. She did confirm that the installer was cancelled, that the 45 dollar fee was waived, and that I was able to do the self install whenever I wanted and that it should work. I thanked her and proceeded to install everything. (Let's face it... a drunk monkey could set up a cable modem right?) So everything’s smooth until I get online and try and authenticate my modem and it doesn't seem to want to work. So I called tech they suggested I call Cox in Lafayette where I had my service before and make sure that they had released my modems mac and serial. One call to them and this was done and I was up and running in 30 seconds after that.
The speed is phenomenal. Seems to be a bit peppier than my service in Lafayette even thought that was rated the same speed wise. My connection has not dropped, signal tests indicate a strong signal, and packet loss seems low if not missing. I do want to point out that I rarely play online games with the exception of Diablo 2, but I do download quite a bit of MP3's from E-Music and I do enjoy downloading evaluation software, games, and the occasional interesting videos that I catch from the Cool Broadband Links forum or Bore me.
My IP is dynamic and I have the non-business class service. My modem is a Toshiba PCX 2200, connected behind a Netgear RP 814v2 router, and Tiny Personal Firewall. Speed does not seem to be impacted at all by the firewalls and everything really runs smooth as silk. I have not used my router's wireless features as I prefer to dock my laptop and direct connect it with a network cable instead.
Recommended for the most part, keep in mind that they seemingly will take advantage of you if they can by sending an installer out so they can charge you 45 bucks even if you do the self install option. Also, keep in mind that the price is 10 dollars more per month if you do not carry at least basic cable. (15 dollars a month I think) It could be because I ordered this online, but I am not really sure. The original CS rep indicated to me that the on-line site was a mess and that there were many problems associated with ordering service online. I don’t know.
UPDATED 12/12/06
Still think Cox is the best choice at least in Baton Rouge, LA. Pricing has gone up some but the speeds have as well. Downtime is pretty much non-existent. I don't deal with customer service because I generally don't have problems and if I do, it's normally something on my end that I can fix myself.
I got a new router (Netgear FWF114p v2) and it's very reliable, stable, and fast wirelessly with my Cox connection.
Really no complaints on the HSI side or the cable tv side - I want more HD channels and better prices, but I'll live!
UPDATED:
Yeah, service is still going strong. I have not had a single problem or instance of downtime (other than when the electricity goes out or something..). Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my service with Cox. I still only have the Cable TV and Internet Service. I might try the VOIP at some point although I hesitate to do this since I don't know how it would work with our Alarm System we have at home.
Great service, highly recommended.
Followup comments:  
JBH
@cox.net
| Poorest Service in Baton Rouge!  We've had a bundled service for less than a month and we have had serious transmission problems: dropped calls on the new digital phone, flickering internet service, etc... We called and they sent a tech out - who said the main problem was on the line outside: transmission/amp booster issues. He said they would send someone to fix it. That's the last we heard from him. We called two days later to see what the status was, they had no record of a request for maintenance from this guy and wanted to send out another tech. We were supposed to also get a call from the supervisor within 48 hours. Never happened. We called again two days later to complain that we were still getting lost calls, lost internet, and the saga continues. CANNOT RECOMMEND COX AT THIS TIME!!! A string and two Dixie cups is better than their phone service. They are the worst!! A lot of promise and no delivery. Very unhappy ... | |
| deadzoned
Premium
join:2005-04-13
Baton Rouge, LA
 ·Cox HSI
| Sorry to hear Sorry about that, I just noticed your comment after finally updating my review.
Sounds like you have had a lot of problems with Cox. Have you tried working with one of the Cox techs that are affiliated with the Broadband Reports forums? Honestly, it's really very little that you hear about people having major problems with their service in the Baton Rouge area. That's not to say people don't have problems with their service from Cox though, because problems do happen.
I think the follow-up and the final resolution to the problem are what is really important. Having said that, have your problems been fixed or do you still experience lot's of problems with service? | |
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