Cox cuts some users’ uploads from 30Mbps to 10Mbps—here’s how to avoid it

James, a Cox cable-Internet customer in Irvine, California, got an unwelcome email on Tuesday from the Internet provider. Cox's email told James, who pays $80 a month for broadband, that his 30Mbps upload speeds will soon be reduced to 10Mbps. A Cox spokesperson told Ars that James and similar customers can keep their 30Mbps upload speeds if they upgrade to a newer modem. But that option wasn't included in the email to customers, which created the impression that the upload-speed cut is mandatory unless they pay for a more expensive Internet plan. The different messages given to customers and an Ars reporter suggest that Cox is trying to get people to switch to the lower-upload speed plan and is only mentioning the option of keeping the existing plan as a last resort. Based on what we've learned, customers who want to keep their current upload speeds and price should talk to a Cox customer-service rep and ask for that option if the rep doesn't mention it. Customers can keep their existing modems without losing Internet service entirely, but their upload speeds will be cut unless they upgrade to a new modem and choose to keep their existing plan. Cox has about 5.3 million broadband customers in the United States. James, who preferred to keep his last name unpublished, is not alone in getting the bad news. Cox's "Ultimate" Internet plan with 300Mbps download and 30Mbps upload speeds was changed to a 500Mbps download, 10Mbps upload package early last year. At first, Cox let customers on the 300Mbps/30Mbps version keep it, without any nudges to change their plans or upgrade their modems. But that changed with the email Cox sent to James and other customers this week. While the boost from 300Mbps to 500Mbps download speeds is nice, it pales in comparison to a 67 percent cut in upload speeds during a pandemic that has demonstrated the importance of upstream bandwidth to families with people working and taking classes at home. James and his wife both work from home and have two children, including a 3-year-old son now old enough to stream video on an Amazon Fire Kids Edition tablet. James bought his own modem for $70 in November 2017 to avoid rental fees. According to Cox, James will have to buy a new modem or rent a new one from Cox (with the first 12 months' rental fees waived) in order to keep the 300Mbps/30Mbps plan.

Cox email leaves key questions unanswered

The Cox email sent to James and other customers said:

We're making important network upgrades to provide a better Internet experience for all of our customers. To do this, we need to move Ultimate Classic 300 plan customers with older modems to the new Ultimate plan on or after Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Your bill will not increase as a result of this change to your Internet service plan. Ultimate has download speeds of up to 500Mbps, 60 percent more than Ultimate Classic 300. Ultimate's lower upload speeds of up to 10Mbps still support the typical needs of most users like video chatting, gaming, and uploading large files. However, you need to update your current modem to enjoy the full increase in download speeds.

The email went on to say that customers can upgrade to a Cox-certified DOCSIS 3.1 modem or the official Cox Wi-Fi gateway and that customers who want more than 10Mbps uploads should "call to learn more about equipment and our speed plans." (DOCSIS is the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification used by the cable industry to provide Internet access over coaxial cables.) The email did not explain why James can't simply keep using his existing plan on his existing DOCSIS 3.0 modem, an Arris SB6183 that supports up to 686Mbps download speeds and 131Mbps upload speeds. The email also didn't explain why upgrading to a better modem would lead to a 67 percent cut in upload speeds from 30Mbps to 10Mbps, when commonsense would suggest a modem upgrade should increase both download and upload speeds.

Cox email spurs confusion and anger

It seemed to James that the only option to keep his current upload speeds was to buy the more expensive "Gigablast" package that includes 940Mbps download speeds and 35Mbps upload speeds. The plan's regular price is $120 a month, with a $100 promotional rate for the first 12 months. It is the only plan Cox advertises with upload speeds above 10Mbps. "It looks like I'm either losing my 300/30 plan in favor of a 500/10 plan, or I'll be paying Cox even more money," James told Ars, before we did more research into the predicament. "In the middle of a pandemic where video conferences are king, Cox is trying to force folks working from home into their top tier to make a quick buck. My area in Irvine doesn't have any alternative broadband options, so I'm stuck until 5G to the home makes an appearance or Starlink miraculously works in semi-dense urban environments." Other customers who received the same email complained in a Reddit thread yesterday. "Just got that same email. Work will be pissed when my productivity slows to a crawl cause uploads take 3 times as long," one person wrote. "Cox is fucking garbage," another person wrote. "I used to have AT&T fiber 1000/1000 until I moved. Same price now I have 500/10. What bullshit."

Cox explains

Customers can't be faulted for thinking there was no way to keep their 300Mbps/30Mbps speeds, since the email said they would be automatically switched to the new plan in early March and mentioned no way of keeping the existing plan. To find out whether customers have any other options, we had to contact Cox's public relations team directly. Cox told us:

The communication our customer shared with you is to inform a small number of customers (less than one percent) with outdated devices on our Ultimate Classic tier that they have the option to get a new device to fully realize the speeds they are being offered. This network upgrade will boost upstream performance for all—and all of the impacted customers have a choice in which speeds they receive, including staying on their existing plan with a device upgrade. The majority of our 300/30 customers are not impacted by this effort since they already have a [DOCSIS] 3.1 device. Customers who want to keep their existing upload speeds and receive a new DOCSIS 3.1 modem will have the option to stay in their existing Ultimate Classic plan (300/30) or upgrade to a new tier of service, which is why we are asking customers contact us to talk through their options as we did with the customer you referenced.

DOCSIS 3.1 is faster and more efficient than 3.0, which may partially explain Cox's statement that it is "boost[ing] upstream performance for all." Pushing users to lower upload-speed tiers may also make it more likely that each customer gets their allotted speeds, but 10Mbps uploads might not be enough for families that do a lot of videoconferencing or other upload-heavy activities. Cox's answer made clear that 300Mbps/30Mbps customers will have to either buy or rent a new DOCSIS 3.1 modem to stay on their current plans. Cox said:

It's important to note that customers with outdated Internet modems (DOCSIS 3.0) that are not compatible with our network will not be able to maximize their new top speeds if they stay on older equipment, nor will they be able to stay on our Ultimate Classic plan (300/30). For this reason, we are recommending equipment upgrades so that customers can get the best Internet experience within the home, and for those who choose, to stay on their current Ultimate Classic plan (300/30) if they contact us and upgrade their equipment. Cox customers who already rent their equipment from us can receive this modem upgrade at no cost. Customers who own their own device can personally upgrade their own equipment or receive the latest DOCSIS 3.1 modem from Cox at no cost for a year.

Automatic downgrade if customers take no action

Customers who take no action, either to change their plan or to upgrade to a new modem, "will be migrated to our new Ultimate tier (500/10)," Cox said. That means they'll definitely get their upload speeds cut to 10Mbps, and they may or may not be able to get the full download speeds. James showed us a screenshot of a conversation he had on NextDoor with another Cox customer in Irvine. That Cox customer said he was told by a Cox rep that DOCSIS 3.0 modems will be limited to 150Mbps after March 3. But the customer was able to get Cox's gigabit service with 35Mbps uploads for a promotional rate of $92.50 for 24 months, and he said he plans to buy an upgraded modem. Despite what that customer was apparently told, Cox's spokesperson told us after a series of follow-up questions that "the majority of customers we are contacting with [DOCSIS] 3.0 modems will be able to realize the 500Mbps download speeds without a device upgrade. The reason we are encouraging an upgrade is to help ensure customers get the best Internet experience within their home by using the latest DOCSIS 3.1 technology." If any customers were told that DOCSIS 3.0 modems won't be able to get higher than 150Mbps download speeds, "that's not what should have been communicated. We apologize for any confusion that this caused him or others," Cox told us. We asked Cox why its emails to customers did not mention the option of keeping the 300Mbps/30Mbps plan, but we didn't get a direct answer. Additionally, Cox's statement that most customers with DOCSIS 3.0 modems can get 500Mbps download speeds seems to conflict with Cox's earlier statement to us that DOCSIS 3.0 modems "are not compatible with our network." It also conflicts with the statement in Cox's email to customers that said, "you need to update your current modem to enjoy the full increase in download speeds." That's the message James got from Cox, even though his DOCSIS 3.0 modem technically supports speeds above 500Mbps.

Good news, bad news

After we passed Cox's response to us along to James, he called it "great news" that he can keep his plan. "Less stellar is the forced migration to DOCSIS 3.1. With that said, I understand that progress in tech is often only made by deprecating and decommissioning older hardware," he said. His search on Amazon found DOCSIS 3.1 modems starting at $149, he said. "I feel bad for any new users, though," James added. "10Mbps upload is backbreaking for families that are running multiple Zoom calls simultaneously. Telling everyone who has their whole family working and learning from home that the only usable Internet package available to them is the highest tier just doesn't seem right."

Cox’s pattern of lowering upload speeds

Cable-industry lobby group NCTA says that "broadband networks are performing well in the face of COVID-19, despite significant surges in online activity." Yet Mediacom recently told heavy uploaders to reduce their data usage—even when those users were well below their monthly data caps. In June 2020, we wrote about how Cox flagged some customers for "excessive" upload usage and lowered upload speeds in some entire neighborhoods where its network was having trouble. In that incident, Cox cut its "Gigablast" upload speeds from 35Mbps to 10Mbps in congested neighborhoods, suggesting that customers like James could upgrade to the pricier plan and still end up with lower upload speeds at some point if Cox decides another speed cut is necessary.

Cable’s upload problem

The cable industry has been boasting for years that upgrades to DOCSIS will help cable match the symmetrical upload and download speeds offered by fiber-to-the-home technology. A "full duplex" update to DOCSIS 3.1 that was finalized late in 2017 was supposed to bring download and upload speeds of 10Gbps. The cable industry unveiled a "10G" marketing campaign in January 2019 to boast of the 10Gbps speeds that would soon hit field trials. Even the DOCSIS 3.1 specification released in 2013 theoretically allows 10Gbps downloads and 1Gbps upload speeds. It does take a few years for network-hardware vendors to build and certify modems and then for cable companies to upgrade networks. But even now, cable ISPs offer upload speeds that are pitiful compared to fiber. Comcast in October 2020 announced a "technical milestone" that can deliver gigabit-plus download and upload speeds over existing cable wires. But the technology has only been deployed in testing, and even the Comcast gigabit cable plan available to customers today still only offers 35Mbps upload speeds. We asked Cox why it hasn't upgraded its network to support higher upload speeds. Cox responded that its "network is performing very well" despite an increase in working from home. About 98 or 99 percent of Cox's 29,000 neighborhood nodes "are performing well with adequate capacity even with the tremendous level of increased peak usage," the company said. "We're actively working to improve the small number of areas where customers may be seeing some performance impact, through a number of techniques," including the plan changes and modem upgrades for 300Mbps/30Mbps customers, Cox said.