Does COX limit or cap bandwidth speeds?

To answer your question; yes, Cox does limit bandwidth speed. They limit the connection between your modem and Cox based on what you pay for. In your case, it's 300/30Mbps. Just because you get a 300Mb connection to your ISP, doesn't mean it is a 300Mbps connection from ISP to XBL or from XBL to BLOP3's server.

As seen here, 4Mbps is just about the max you will get to their game servers. That is on purpose to conserve bandwidth since no more then 1-2Mbps is needed for gaming. Gaming uses small quick packets, so latency is more important then speed. BlackOps uses a complicated match making system that looks at both your latency and speed to the game server.  Since no one else will be getting above 4Mbps, as long as you get that, it has no effect on match making or game play. See more info here. 

Last, just for clarity, bandwidth is a term used to describe the amount of data you can download/upload in a given mouth. For Ultimate, you get 2000Gb. If you go past that, you sometimes get a warning. A warning is them just making sure you are aware of the increase activity and maybe a upsell. Since you are on the highest tier, there is nothing they can upsell you too,  so don't worry. It has no effect on speed.

Ok, so based on your answer COX only limits my bandwidth to what I am supposed to be getting, IE: 300/30 for Ultimate?  This is the only limit  COX imposes?  Now I completely understand I may not get the same speeds to all locations, hence the reason I pay to get a faster internet speed so this would not be an issue.

I have buddies I play with who never have so called "lag" issues.  They have much slower speeds and dont see what I see.  Sometimes there is 2-3 seconds between cause and affect (See Clip Here).  When I play I do check this, and per game.  The latency/ packets, I am anywhere between 30-70 latency with absolutely ZERO packet loss.  The buddies I play with are in Texas.  This does not matter if I am the party leader or if they are.  Their bandwidth (in game) is much lower too, 400 - 1200kbps.  Since this is the case and higher numbers should mean I should get better connectivity, shouldn't I be the one with a better connection?  This makes me think opposite though.  Like I should drop to a much lower speed and then its like I would hae a better connection with no "lag"!

OK so bandwidth is just a term of what they (BLOPs) is going to allow.  No matter if I was getting GB DL / 1GB UL, I would potentially have the same issue, period.  What steps can I follow to make sure i have done everything to get past this issue and minimize potential "lag" issues?

I have already forwarded the ports needed. Connection is hardwired. My box has a static IP. 

Dubuddaman said:
his is the only limit  COX imposes?

That and the data caps I discussed later in the post.

Dubuddaman said:
higher numbers should mean I should get better connectivity,

Not quite. Higher speed won't effect your lag that much. It is more used as a way to decide who should be host. What you are experiencing is interpolation. This is where you are lagged to create a better connection for everyone else. I wish I could simplify it to a few short sentences, but it's just not that kind of thing. To understand it, you need to get your hands dirty. I suggest looking at this article. I highly suggest it, even if you just skim through it looking for anything relevant. 

As for what to do to correct lags issues, its hard to say. Try to get one of your friends IP (should show somewhere while playing the game) and run a tracert to it. This will show possible trouble points. If it outside Cox's and your friends ISP, there isn't much you can do about it, but you can atleast be aware. Also, check your NAT. I think this is displayed somewhere on the screen during the game. Forgive me, been a long time since I have played Zombies. If NAT is a issue, we might try port forwarding, but you have a powerful router, it should be able to handle UPnP.

Another thing you might try is to make sure your router is pingable. It won't help much once you are in a game, but it can help match making. Both the accuracy and the time it takes to find a game. To enable that, from the Nighthawk UI  ADVANCED > Setup > WAN Setup > Respond to Ping on internet port or see here for more info. 

Hi Dubuddaman,

Tecknowhelp has provided excellent information and links!

Just out of curiosity, what internet speed results do you get when testing through your Xbox?

Depends, I have been trying multiple options and hardware due to these issues.  I have 3 different modems i have currently used.  Each have given much different results.  I do have run to run the test multiple times to get it to show (I guess) what I want to see...

I think the best result has been 343DL and 30UL

I do not think this test accurately shows what I am getting though.  This test was completed when no one else in my family was up or on.  I would like to see these results all the time, or even close to it.  I think an average speed test reflects about 200DL and 23UL.  Now this is with multiple Roku units, computers, phones, and other devices in play.  Speed tests to me are not accurate because this is only to a specific location meant to show these results.  This is more than likely to the closest server.  I would like to utilize a server farthest away from my local to get a more accurate result.  Since I am in AZ, I think New York or some where on the eastern coast would be a better location to have a speed test conducted.  

I just seem to have issues with gaming when it comes to internet.  Never happy.

Hi Dubuddaman,

As you already know, the number of simultaneous users can impact your Internet experience. Perhaps you can implement a household digital time-out period that starts when you sit down for an intense COD battle?
That way you won’t be competing with the Rokus, computers, phones, and other devices also trying to access online content.

Third party speed test services run both on and off of Cox's network, so they don’t provide a completely accurate picture of your speed experience on Cox's network. They are, however, still useful tools for troubleshooting. The official Cox speed test runs on the same software as speedtest.net but on servers inside Cox. I usually recommend that you test using speedtest.net as well as www.cox.com/residential/internet/speed-test.cox. We can't guarantee speeds once traffic leaves our network; however, you should get comparable results.

Please keep us posted and let us know if you see any improvements once you install the 6190.

Becky said:
Hi Dubuddaman,

As you already know, the number of simultaneous users can impact your Internet experience. Perhaps you can implement a household digital time-out period that starts when you sit down for an intense COD battle?
That way you won’t be competing with the Rokus, computers, phones, and other devices also trying to access online content.

Third party speed test services run both on and off of Cox's network, so they don’t provide a completely accurate picture of your speed experience on Cox's network. They are, however, still useful tools for troubleshooting. The official Cox speed test runs on the same software as speedtest.net but on servers inside Cox. I usually recommend that you test using speedtest.net as well as www.cox.com/residential/internet/speed-test.cox. We can't guarantee speeds once traffic leaves our network; however, you should get comparable results.

Please keep us posted and let us know if you see any improvements once you install the 6190.

Becky - I dont know if I will "ever" be happy per-say.  We live in a day and age where everyone wants the fastest service and internet possible.  Even if I have a dedicated GB service up and down, I think I would still see an issue with this game.  From @Teck (s) help and reading a few more articles CoD is still using 10 year old routing and server platforms.  This is a reason that only so much bandwidth is allowed.  This is also due to local (me and closest server). 

Yeah, I do know that when the family starts the internet pull for their items & needs my connection may lag just a bit.  I do with DLink continued to manufacture the gaming router.  The QoS was second to none along with the port forward on top made the connection I wanted to get the most spped would.  Now a days QoS implemented in routers is horrible.  Port forwarding is by far the worst.  If I wanted to forward a single port (ex. 3074) I can only forward this to one device, PERIOD.

Thank you, I will keep you updated.