Setting up cable or satellite service can be a bit of a hassle. Just selecting a provider and figuring out which deal is best for your situation can take many hours, then you have to sit at home and hope the installer shows up when promised. With a provider like Cox cable, you can also bundle internet and home phone service along with the cable TV, so researching the offer is especially important as you will likely be spending more than $100 each month for a bundled package. Lets take a closer look at the Cox cable deals available and review the prices and services included.
Cox cable deals can vary depending on the service area you live in. For example, currently in the Mesa, Arizona market there aren’t any discounts for new customers on the package prices, at least according to the Cox website. The Standard bundle is priced at $92.99 a month, which includes Cox advanced TV preferred, Cox High speed internet essential, and the Starter Digital phone offer. This reflects a standard bundle discount of just under $11 a month for combining all three services into a Cox cable package. These triple play offers can save you money compared to paying for services separately.
Looking a different market, the Cox deal in San Diego, California reflects a different story. The same Cox Standard bundle is normally priced at $115.99 a month, but is discounted down to $83.99 a month for new customers. You do get a faster internet speed here, with the Cox Internet Preferred which has download speeds up to 15 Mbps. The Cox deal here reflects a promotional discount of $22 a month off of internet service, and another $22 a month off of Advanced TV service. So why the difference in the Cox cable deals?
Its hard to put your finger on an exact reason, but competition probably has something to do with it. Cox communications is facing more competition in San Diego as AT&T continues to deploy and sell U-verse to residents in that market. With U-verse packages offering services comparable to cable TV packages, you can get a better Cox cable deal in this area compared to others.
In the Phoenix market, Qwest is the dominant telecom company. They do not yet have their own video product, and rely instead on reselling DIRECTV satellite service. The only other option in that area would be Dish Network satellite TV. It seems as if the marketing executives as Cox recognize where strong competition is eating away at their cable TV franchise, and thus new customers can get the best Cox deal in these markets.
Of course things are always in a constant state of change in the pay television marketplace. The internet is usually a good place to start when looking for deals from Cox cable and the competition, but the place to finish is over the phone. Giving companies like Cox and DIRECTV a phone call can often result in an offer not generally advertised to the public.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
We had Dir.TV for over 7 years, we “leased THEIR equipment”. One of our recievers went bad after 7 years, Dir. TV said we would be charged $50. to come & fix “THEIR” equipment. I said I would not pay to have their equipment fixed & that I would switch to Dish if they did not take care of THEIR equipment without charge to me, Dir.TV told me to go ahead & switch, so I did. Dir. TV then tried to charge me $360. for early termination fee, 7 years, really, early termination?
So I contacted the ATT. General, Dir. TV immediatly backed down & refunded the $360. they had stolen off my credit card that they had on file. Direct TV is the poorest service I have ever witnessed in 55 years. Stay away from these theives………
Dish is no better than Dir. TV, all these Satellite Co. apperantly care less about their customers once they sign a 2 year agreement. We have about a year & ahalf left on our contract. I will switch back to Cable when in expires. I have had a problem with one of their recievers 6 months after installlation, it took 3 hours on the phone, 2 days communicating via computer, on the third day of repeating the start up they want you to do everytime you talk to someone different, I finally had had enough & told them I would contact the Att. General. They immediatly said they would send out a new reciever via UPS, so now I have to wait another 3-5 days. Stay away from all Satellite Companies, they could care less about you once you sign the contract. So, do yourself a favor & the first words out of your mouth should be “ATTORNEY GENERAL COMPLAINT” that seems to be the only way of getting these companies to maintaine THEIR equipment.
I don’t think it’s as bad as Mike commented above me, but you definitely need to find a quality installer. Nobody likes to be told “We’ll be there between 2pm tuesday and 4pm friday”. Maybe it’s just me. I had AEI Dish install my dish and I just ahven’t had the issues that other installers seem to give their customers.
For what it’s worth I have had DirecTv for about 6 years and don’t have any complaints. At this point the only reason I consider switching is maybe to get new equipment or to bundle with other services. For example, cable tv, phone, and internet.