At&t and Cox Communications are two of the most renowned Internet Service providers with a wide coverage and a number of highly competitive internet plans, and in areas where these two operators offer their services it might be a little tricky to pick one from the other.
At&t have broadly categorized or grouped their Internet plans based on the mode of connection, i.e fiber, DSL Hybrid and fixed wireless. On the other hand Cox offer DSL internet plans only.
At&t fiber is one of the best in the market with symmetrical connection having the same download and upload speeds. They are also relatively cheaper as compared to the competition with no term contracts and no data caps. However their availability is very limited and might not be available in your area. If you’re lucky to be in a place where at&t fiber is available, then this could be your best bet, but if not then you will have to do a good job in researching and evaluating the available internet plans from various providers in order to settle for one that best suits your needs.
While it’s clear that at&t emerges the winner over Cox as far as fiber plans are concerned, Cox actually has a upper hand in regions where at&t fiber is not available, courtesy of their Gigablast plan which provides speeds of up to 940Mbps and upload speeds of up to 35Mbps. While you may have to pay slightly higher and watch not to exceed your monthly allowance, this is the best DSL speeds you can get as close as a fiber connection and is one of the best options where fiber is not available.
Something worth mentioning here before we proceed is that while DSL is the second best connection after fiber with better speeds as compared to other options like cable and fixed wireless, it has one major disadvantage of very low upload speeds which might make them unsuitable for people who want to do a lot of uploading work like online conferencing and working from home.
In this post we will give you a detailed close comparison between at&t and Cox internet plans starting with:
At&t Vs Cox: Availability.
While at&t Services are available in 21 states, Cox offer it’s services in 19 States. This means that at&t has a slightly wider area coverage over at&t, but Cox has a better area representation.
At&t services are available in North Central and West with a large concentration in South and not available in the East. It covers 5 states in North Central, 2 States in West and 14 states in South.
While Cox also has a larger concentration in South, it also has a good coverage in other regions with 4 states in the East, 2 in North Central, 5 in West and 8 in South.
The states that both at&t and Cox offer their services are Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Oklahoma. States where at&t is available and Cox is not are Alabama, Illinois, India, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. States where Cox is available and at&t is not are Arizona, Iowa, Idaho, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Rhode island and Virginia.
At&t Vs Cox: Internet plans
AT&T Internet Plans.
At&t Fiber plans.
Internet 300. $35/Month.
For $300 per month you get a fiber connection of up to 300 Mbps. This package is good for streaming, watching HD videos, online gaming and large file sharing.
Internet 500. $45/Month.
For $45 per month you get a fiber connection of up to 500Mbps. This is good for multiple users, streaming and sharing large files.
Internet 1,000. $60/Month.
For $60 per month you get a fiber connection of up to 940 Mbps good for connected homes, heavy online gaming and home offices.
Please Note that these packages have limited availability so you must first check if they are available in your region.
At&t DSL Hybrid Internet Plans.
Internet 100. $45/Month.
For $45 per month you get up to 100Mbps internet good for HD video streaming, gaming and large file sharing.
Internet 50. $45/Month.
This package gives you up to 50Mbps internet connection good for video streaming, sharing videos and photos as well as online gaming.
Internet 25. $45/Month.
This plan gives you up to 25Mbps internet good for streaming, sharing videos & photos and online gaming.
Internet 18. $45/Month.
This plan gives you up to 18Mbps good for HD video streaming, Sharing videos & photos as well as online gaming.
Internet 10. $45/Month.
This plan gives you up to 10Mbps internet good for social networking, downloading music & videos and streaming.
At&t Basic Internet Plans.
Internet Basic 768. $45/Month.
For $45 per month this plan gives you up to 0.8Mbps good for emails and light web surfing.
Internet Basic 1.5. $45/Month.
This plan gives you up to 1.5Mbps good for downloading small files, web surfing and social networking.
AT&T Fixed Wireless Internet.
At&t fixed wireless is available mostly in regions where fiber and DSL connections are not available. They are best for rural homes and businesses who can’t get a fiber of DSL internet connection.
At&t Fixed Wireless. $69.99/Month.
This plan gives you up to 10Mbps fixed internet connection.
There is also an option to bundle the Fixed internet with DIRECTV for $59.99 and get at least 10Mbps internet connectivity.
Please Note that at&t fixed wireless users are allocated a data allowance of 350GB per month. Any data above this will be charged $10 per every 50GB addition data up to a maximum of $200 per month.
Cox internet plans.
1. Starter 25. USD 29.99/Month.
This is the cheapest Cox plan that can deliver up to 25Mps download speeds and up to 3Mbps upload speeds.
The plan costs $29.99 per month with a term contract or $39.99 without a contract for the first one year. Thereafter you will be charged $44.99 per month.
There’s also a $12/Month equipment rental fee but you can choose to use your own Compatible equipment.
The plan is ideal for up to 3 devices for light web surfing, email as well as social networking.
2. Essential 50 USD 39.99/Month.
Essential 50 has speeds of up to 50Mbps download and up to 3Mbps upload.
This plan will cost you $39.99 for the first year with a term contract or $59.99 per month without a contract. Thereafter it will cost $65.99 per month.
These speeds can connect up to 5 devices and good for moderate web surfing, email & social networking.
3. Preferred 150. USD 59.99/Month.
Preferred 150 can achieve download speeds of up to 150 Mbps and upload speeds up to 10Mbps.
The plan costs $59.99 per month for the first year with a term contract and $69.99 without. Thereafter you will be charged $83.99 per month.
Thi plan can connect up to 7 devices ideal for working from home and gaming.
4. Ultimate 500. USD 79.99/Month.
This plan can gives download speeds of up to 500Mps and upload speeds of up to 10Mbps.
It costs $79.99 per month for the first year with a term contract or $89.99 per month without a contract. Thereafter you will be charged $99.99 per month.
With such speeds you can connect up to 9 devices and is ideal for moderate 4k streaming, multi-player gaming, working from home and virtual learning.
5. Gigablast. USD. 99.99/Month.
This is the fastest Cox internet plan which can deliver download speeds of up to 940 Mbps and download speeds of up to 35Mbps.
The plan costs $ 99.99 per month with a contract and $109.99 without for the first year. Thereafter you will be charged $119.99 per Month.
The plan allows you connect up to 9+ devices and is ideal for 8k video streaming, multi-player gaming, work from home and virtual learning.
Also Read: How to carry out an Effective email marketing campaign.
At&t Vs Cox: INSTALLATION CHARGES.
Both providers charge a one-time installation fee of $99 for professional installation with an option to choose Self installation in order to avoid this charge. However there are regions where at&t don’t offer self installation and therefore will have to pay the installation fee. In some instances you could be charged $35 activation fee if you do self installation.
If you choose self installation for Cox, they will mail you an installation not with everything you need including the equipment and the installation guide.
You should also check for offers where installation fee is waived if you order your internet online.
AT&T VS COX: EQUIPMENT FEE.
Both providers also charge a monthly rental fee of $12 per month for Cox Panoramic Wi-Fi Gateway and $10 for At&t router. While Cox give you and option to use your own equipment, at&t doesn’t have that luxury and you will have to rent their equipment for $10 monthly.
You should also note that there are a number of advantages of you use Cox Panoramic WiFi Gateway instead of using your own including updated software, security and easy control as well as tracking of your internet usage.
AT&T VS COX : DATA ALLOWANCES, CAPS AND OVERAGE CHARGES.
Apart from fiber plans, all other at&t Internet plans have a monthly data allowance of 1 TB per month and 350 GB for fixed wireless. In case you exceed your monthly data allowance you will be charged overage charges of $10 per extra 50GB up to a maximum of $100 per month and up to $200 per month for fixed wireless.
In order to avoid overage charges at&t gives you two options; either sign up for unlimited internet by adding an extra $30 per month or opt in for a TV + Internet bundled plan.
Cox on the other hand have a monthly data allowance of 1.25 TB (1280GB) per month for all their internet plans. If you exceed this limit Cox will give you a one-time courtesy credit for your first time and charge $10 per 50GB extra up to $100 per month for subsequent months.
You can also go for unlimited plans but unlike normal plans which term contracts are not mandatory you will have to sign term contracts for all Cox Unlimited plans as well as pay higher than limited plans.
Term contracts.
At&t Internet plans don’t require term contracts, so you won’t have to worry about early termination fee in case you want to change your plan or move to another internet service provider.
Cox on the other hand give you an option to choose between a term contract or not. But in case you go without a contract you will have to pay between $10 and $20 per month extra for the first one year. Also all Unliminet Cox plans require term contracts and you won’t have an option here if you choose to go unlimited.
In case you sign a term contract, you can cancel it within one month, but after it will attract an early termination fee (ETF) of $120 for one year contracts and $240 for two year contracts.
At&t Vs Cox Customer care.
How does these two Internet Service providers fair on in terms of their customer care?
At&t prides itself of their customer care performance and as per a number of customer satisfaction statistics they are actually performing very well toping in a number of statistics.
According to the 2020 J.D. Power's US Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction, at&t ranked first with an impressive performance in all regions where it offers it’s services. Out of a 1000 point scale, at&t lead with 742 points in North Central, 769 in South and 742 in West.
Surprisingly Cox ranked fourth in all regions with 713 points in East, 734 in South and 721 in West.
Also according to American Customer Satisfaction Index 2021 at&t tied with Verizon FiOS for first position with Cox also coming in fourth. At&t scored 71 points out of a 100 up from 68 the previous year while Cox Scored 63 points up from 61 the previous year.
At&t Vs Cox Speed test.
In order to compare the speed performance of these two providers we are going to rely on data from Ookla, a speed testing site.
According to their Q2 2021 speed statistics Cox was ranked second after Verizon with a speed Score of 167.90 while Verizon had 170.22. at&t ranked fifth with 124.54 behind Xfinity with 124.54 points.
According to the same site Cox also scored very well in latency coming in second after Verizon as well. Verizon had a latency of 8ms while Cox had a latency of 11ms. Xfinity came third, Spectrum fourth, CenturyLink fifth and at&t Sixth.
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