What is the Difference Between Cox Ultimate and Preferred?
Cox Ultimate and Preferred are two of the best-known internet packages offered by the company Cox Communications, and here are some of the differences between the two plans:
After reading this article, you should be knowledgeable about what you are buying when you purchase home internet service from Cox Communications, especially the Ultimate and Preferred plans. But what specific feature makes these internet packages special? In the following criteria, we compare Cox’s Ultimate and Preferred packages and come up with a decision on which package is better.
Speed
The biggest difference between the Ultimate and Preferred Cox plans is that the former boasts a higher internet speed. Cox Ultimate provides blazing-fast internet services with gigabit downloads and uploads of up to 1 gig. This blazing speed enables users to download an HD movie in under 36 seconds.
Still, Cox Preferred has the peak speed of 300 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload. Although considerably faster compared to most connection speeds, you will receive an Internet connection at a slower rate than a gigabit connection. This translates to slower downloading speeds, slower streaming, slower gaming, and worse performances in other activities that require more bandwidth.
Therefore, if you want to get the fastest internet provided by Cox, it is available in the Ultimate package. However, as we have already mentioned, Preferred still provides reasonable connection speeds for regular surfing, mail, social networks, and high-quality streaming.
Data Usage
The other major difference is the fact that with each plan, there is a different amount of data that is offered monthly. Cox Ultimate has a promising data limit of 2 TB and can be useful for downloading huge files or streaming videos. It means they are virtually unlimited for even the most active World Wide Web users whose workload is measured in gigabytes per month. It has been calculated that you would need to watch over 560 hours of high-definition (HD) videos to reach this limit!
However, Cox Preferred also comes with a 1 TB (1,000 GB) allowance per month. This is particularly true for families or households, where several members are constantly streaming, gaming, and surfing the internet daily; a 1 TB limit provides an opportunity to get charged higher fees for going over the limit.
So once more, Ultimate provides a superior value to Preferred, providing unlimited-style data for internet customers per billing cycle.
Reliability
That is why you also need to compare reliability, as well as the consistency of connections provided by the same internet plans. Cox operates an advanced fiber-hyper network which it owns and spends significantly to ensure speed and minimum downtime.
According to the advertisement, Cox stated that both the Ultimate and Preferred package enjoys the benefit of this ‘reliable network backbone for consistent speed.’ Therefore, the reliability issue should not heavily influence the decision whether to go with the Ultimate or Preferred package.
Equipment & Installation
Upon selection of either Preferred or Ultimate service tiers, Cox offers and facilitates the installation of networking equipment to support home internet connectivity. Yet, certain differences in equipment and installation are present in the plans.
Cox Ultimate involves the setup of the advanced Panoramic Wifi Gateway router for a fast internet connection with gigabit WiFi in your house. Additional installation may also be necessary to install the custom equipment which would enable the provision of fiber-fast speeds that come with the Ultimate.
The Preferred plan comes with Cox’s Panoramic router with basic features for the slower speed offered as well. They also provide standard self-installation methods for customers who want to get connected with Preferred internet services.
Therefore, as a general rule, when choosing the Ultimate service level, you can confidently expect a more thorough and individual equipment installation experience. The Preferred package seems to be much simpler technology-wise compared to the other packages.
Price
Now let us define the second significant difference between these two plans, namely the monthly price and the total cost. Not surprisingly, Cox’s gigabit Ultimate internet is not cheap, which we will discuss in the next section devoted to the service’s pricing.
Cox offers the Ultimate bundle which costs about $120 on average depending on the location. Negotiating for bundled services such as along with TV or phone can help you reduce your monthly cost. However, you are still likely to spend at least $100 per month, on average.
Cox Preferred is cheaper, especially if compared to the standard rates of $55-$65 monthly. Thus, you stand to gain a good amount of money by using the services of Preferred. Although, you will lose the exceptionally high-speed gigabit connectivity available in the Ultimate package.
Ultimate is the most suitable for those customers who want to get the highest possible speed of internet connection and money is not an object. However, for the great masses of families seeking for a good value for their money, Preferred Company can be considered a good intermediate solution offering fairly good speeds at a moderate cost.
In Summary
Cox Preferred and Ultimate are the two superior offerings of Cox internet plans for homes and families. To recap the key differences:
- Speed & Data: Ultimate provides the maximum gigabit speed up to $1 Gbps and 2 TB monthly data. Favored using preferred peaks of 300 Mbps and 1 TB for data usage.
- Reliability: Both plans use Cox’s state-of-the-art fiber-hybrid network for reliable usage all through.
- Equipment & Installation: The ultimate plan needs pro installation of the high-speed gigabit hardware/router. Preferred uses easier do-it-yourself self-install equipment.
- Price: Ultimate costs around $100+ per month for the top-tier gigabit connection. While Preferred costs $55-65 monthly for cheaper 300Mbps speeds.
So in this comparison, one is forced to choose between the gigabit internet speed as offered by Google against the cheaper but still fast preferred service. Take into account your household’s Internet-consuming habits and the financial resources allocated for this need. To do so, select the Cox plan that will fit your connectivity needs and preferences.
Ready to upgrade your internet experience? Call us now at +1 844-349-7575 to explore the best Cox Internet plans for your needs!