Forum Discussion

MJTen's avatar
MJTen
New Contributor
4 years ago

Wired Coax Connection vs "Wireless" Fiber Connection

I have been considering going to a Cox fiber connection to the home to improve speed/quality.  I currently work out of the home where I have a hard wired connection in my office via coax.  Unfortunately it will not be easy to run ethernet to the office,   So my choice is to stay as-is with what is now a 500/10 Mbps coax to the home connection or upgrade to fiber with speeds of either 500/500 (unsure of upload max) or Gigablast.  However, if I go fiber, then the connection will end up going to another end of the home (not my office) and that I'd be forced to work in my office via a wireless connection.   I've looked into Wifi 6 mesh systems like Asus XT8, Orbi, Eero Pro 6.  I thought about placing one of the satellite mesh nodes in my office and then hard wiring to the node.  I would still be relying on the wireless backhaul connection between the main wifi mesh router to the secondary node.  So my question is whether it's worth it to be on fiber?  I'm not dissatisfied with my current setup (coax) but wouldn't mind faster upload speeds.  Any thoughts?

  • CrystalS's avatar
    CrystalS
    Former Moderator
    4 years ago
    Hello @MJTen,

    That is the GREAT DEBATE when it comes to speed issues. The real question is which is the more reliable connection, not really how you are getting the get the signal. So, a wired connection is always going to be more reliable than any Wifi connection no matter how high your speed. A wired connection will always guarantee that you get the speeds that you are supposed to get. Wireless connections are always unstable and can be affected by numerous factors. After reading through the post, here are my thoughts:

    1) You can reach out to us(Twitter at @CoxHelp, visit us on Facebook, or email us at cox.help@cox.com) to schedule a modem relocation to make your Ethernet connections easier.

    2) You can always upgrade to our Gigblast speed, whether you go fiber or stay coax. That level of service gives 35 Mbps with a modem. If you are needing more upload speed and have a Docsis 3.1 modem, you still have the option to go back to the old Ultimate level of service that gives 30 Mbps upload. Just reach out.

    I like stable connections and to get the most stable connection, you have to be hard-wired to the modem. No matter which way you decide before you make your final decision. Please reach us on Twitter at @CoxHelp, visit us on Facebook, or email us at cox.help@cox.com. Provide us the name on the account with the complete service address with a link to this thread.

    Crystal S.
    Cox Support Forum Moderator
    • MJTen's avatar
      MJTen
      New Contributor
      4 years ago

      Thank you very much for the quick reply.   I will send an email to Cox support as you suggest to explore options.  It sounds like you’re suggesting to stay wired to get the most reliable connection which makes sense.

       My interest in fiber came about from an email I received last month from Cox about my 300/30 plan being retired.  I had the option of doing nothing and going to 500/10 or calling Cox to replace my Docsis 3.0 Panoramic modem/router to stay on the 300/30 plan.  When I called Cox to replace my existing modem I was told I couldn’t replace it and I would have to go to fiber unless I wanted to get bumped down to 150/10 on coax.   Since that sort of contradicted the email I called back to speak with another support person.  I got another set of options completely different from the first support agent.  I proceeded to call back a few more times over the course of the week and continued to get different explanations and suggestions.   While everyone was very nice, I was left a bit confused about what I should do.  One common theme was that since my neighborhood was marked as “fiber” by Cox my options might be different than other customers.  One support person told me very confidently that if my existing 3.0 Panoramic modem/router ever needed replacement I would be forced to migrate to fiber at that time.  To be honest that is why I thought it made sense to migrate to fiber.  I didn’t want my work connection to ever be down several days while I was waiting to get fiber installed should my existing equipment ever fail.  I’ve since learned that support person was not providing me accurate information.  I’ve also learned that I probably could have upgraded my modem to Docsis 3.1 by purchasing one myself.    It’s my understanding that given my neighborhood I cannot rent a Docsis 3.1 modem from Cox.  That would have allowed me to stay on the 300/30 plan which is what I really wanted to do in the first place.   My overall impression is that Cox has different policies for different regions and neighborhoods as technology changes.  So I get that options for one customer may not be the same for another customer.  Unfortunately though getting bad information can lead to bad decisions by a customer which is my main feedback here.

  • MJTen's avatar
    MJTen
    New Contributor
    4 years ago

    I contacted cox.help@cox.com per the suggestion of the forum moderators.   The initial reply from Cox made no sense since it described equipment and a configuration that didn’t match our setup.   I replied with more questions since I didn’t understand most of the email.  The 2nd reply from cox.help was an apology from another person for the first email I received.  She told me the person must have referred to the wrong account.  She referred me to Cox sales to get my answers.   I spoke with someone in the sales department that was very helpful and seemed knowledgeable on my setup.  The bottom line for me is that unless I go to fiber I am stuck at a maximum of 10Mbps upload speed on coax.   He told me the 300/30 plan will be retired relatively soon.  My 2-year agreement is coming up in a couple of months and he also mentioned that it’s possible that my current coax configuration may go up in price quite a bit (assuming it’s still available to me since I’m in a “fiber neighborhood”).   Ultimately Cox holds most of the cards here so for either technical or economic reasons, I may be forced to migrate to fiber.  While most people would love that, my preference would be to stay hard wired to the router (i.e. – coax).  So I think my best route is plan for that change – whether that be an expensive WiFi 6 mesh system, MoCA, or something else.   If I’m able to keep my coax 500/10 plan at reasonable price, then that is still my preferred option unless someone can convince me otherwise.