You're using emotionally-charged words (elders, seniors) with assumptions to force a conclusion. For example, with "poor service," whose standard of service are you using...yours? What degree of service does your elderly neighbor expect but is not receiving? Some examples would be useful.
Outdated Equipment. If I have a DOCSIS 2.0 modem to deliver a 50 Mbps plan, is my equipment outdated? Just because a delivery system is older (DOCSIS 2.0 > Fast Ethernet > 802.11g > Windows XP), it doesn't mean it's outdated. The equipment is older, yes, but so are my expectations. I don't need a gigabit system to deliver megabit expectations.
Not Educated (manor?). Who is educated on this stuff? Who educated you? We read Millennials complaining about no gigabit wireless and no DWTS in UHD. The secret to our Greatest Generation seniors is to keep them within the decision-making process; however, glittery marketing and hastily-generalizing neighbors don't help.
From brownouts to bandwidth, we should all check in on our neighbors or at least establish a trustworthy rapport. You just can't proclaim, "You're getting ripped off" because you'll further isolate them from the technology. Although difficult...and sometimes frustrating...you need to explain things so they can make their decisions.
In this scenario, what bandwidth does your neighbor need and how is Cox ripping them off and why is it different from anybody else?