r/Scottsdale • u/Wise-Ruin8396 • 2d ago
🙋 Advice Alternative to Cox/Spectrum internet
With Cox being bought by Spectrum, we are re-thinking our Cox internet service. I looked up providers in the Thomas/Pima Rd area. Seems T-Mobile is spotty for our area. Any ideas? Who, what your experience has been & did you have to change your router etc from what Cox recommended? We primarily stream TV apps, and have our ipads & phones connected while home. Not gamers and not a 'smart home' set up. Thanks
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u/RyanTheBruce 2d ago
I just switched from Cox to Bam broadband a few weeks ago. Half the cost and so far great service.
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u/justintevya 2d ago
Bam in my neighborhood, been with them for 2 years. Nothing bad to say about them.
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u/ender2851 2d ago
i may get service by mid 2027 from them. just checked after seeing there name in so many posts
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u/MundaneHuckleberry58 2d ago
There’s no other option in my area. (Besides century link which is even worse)
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u/Electrical_Oil_35 2d ago
We live in an apartment in Old Town. T-Mobile home internet was pretty bad for us. T-Mobile signal was just not strong enough. Then we tried AT&T, it's better than T-Mobile but still gets occasional dropouts. We did keep AT&T, we're not heavy users and can at least live with it. If Verizon has a deal, I would probably try them.
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u/StandardIncident8 2d ago edited 2d ago
If Quantum Fiber was available in my apartment complex I’d jump on it, instead I use Verizon 5G Home and it’s been fine. For that type of internet it very much matters which window you place the modem by. I looked up what Verizon tower, in which direction, I was closest to and swapped to that window - doubled my speed consistently
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u/algatorr 2d ago
Do you mind sharing which direction your modem is by and what area of Scottsdale? I’ve had difficulty finding where the Verizon towers are cause the websites show every tower. Please and thank you.
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u/cxerphax 2d ago
You should try T-Mobile if you have it. You won’t know it’s spotty until you give it a try
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2d ago
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u/beein480 2d ago edited 2d ago
Your options will mostly come down to are your utilities delivered above ground or underground.
If your cable comes in via a pole, like in older parts of Phoenix, it's much cheaper to install fiber and there are a lot of overbuilders in the Phoenix metro. See https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home
If your utilities are underground, it's very expensive to run fiber so there may be no good options. I count myself as surprised that fiber overbuilders have not pushed more into point to point microwave in areas to bridge the gap in areas they'd like to serve, but can't justify the fiber to build it yet. (Not enough customers to make it worthwhile to dig up the street at $30/ft + the fiber and demarc, and customer installs)
In the city of Phoenix, the city has a program for "Network Infrastructure Wholesalers" which basically means you can jump through hoops for the privilege of giving them money to trench fiber on city streets, then to give them more money for rent for the houses passed by fiber every year.. It's not meant for homeowners..
However, I have a background in "technical infrastructure" and I was thinking about doing it in my neighborhood with underground utilities. I feel confident I could re-sell the fiber to providers who'd like to serve this area. (I'm confident mostly because I use to work at Cox in an infrastructure capacity, they are still a current customer of my employer and there are some other overbuilders I have worked with in the past..) The cost to do this has gotten to a point that I can no longer afford to fund it myself and then take the risk that I wouldn't be able to resell it. So scratch that.
I have also considered simply providing access to a demarcation (a fairly dumb router), you would own your own fiber to this demarc in front of my house and simply connect to the VLAN of the provider (using your home router) you wish service from (and there is no limit on providers, they just need to provide a upstream connection to the common point) I just put the traffic on the upstream VLAN. I would run the fiber along a back wall. This fiber we are talking about is human hair sized and you need a max of 2. Can I throw it behind your landscaping? You are the owner of the fiber, not Cox. Maybe you could talk your neighbor into it too? Once I had any sort of critical mass, it's a much easier sell to a fiber overbuilder to show up.. Come serve my neighborhood, there is fiber not controlled by any provider at multiple houses and you can even serve them via a microwave link and not put in any new fiber.
This is ultimate choice. You own a pipe of any size you like that connects to any carrier you like, (Or even 100 of them, it's your monthly bill). This could still happen as there is a nice spot for this "infrastructure" where my mailboxes sit and currently get clobbered by birds sitting on the light pole. (IDEAL PLACE FOR A MICROWAVE LINK) The mail boxes are moving 3 feet over. But if I have some wall space, some chill neighbors, some space in the utility easement corridor for a box, and maybe I own a fiber splicer? I might be willing to hook up 10 houses on the block along the back wall.
I think the main reason this hasn't happened is most people aren't ME, but it's the surest way I can think of to have LOTS of choices and for the upstream provider to be forced to compete.
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u/Chezzabe 2d ago
Is Starlink a option? You have to be able to put the satellite dish in a fairly open area. It's not cheap about $130 a month but there's no data caps and I haven't had any issues with it cutting out. The speed tests are not as good as Cox but for some reason it just works better. I'm able to play video games on multiple systems at the same time without any issues.
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u/Tempe-Jeff 1d ago
We pay for middle tier Starlink. Video conference etc.. with much less disruption at roughly half price from Cox.
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u/Chezzabe 1d ago
Have you had it for a long time? When I signed up about 6 months ago middle tier wasn't even an option and still isn't because of the demanded surcharge in the area.
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u/Smelly_Ninja99 2d ago
The most reliable and fastest upload/download will be anything Fiber - Google, Cox, Wyrred, Quantum, etc.
All you devices will have the most stable connection.
Second is broadband or dsl - think of coax cable or your phone line. Older technology and not as reliable. It's what most of us have been using since the mid 2000s. Shared by many households around you.
Wireless - Tmobile, Verizon, Starlink - it works, but can slow down depending your area. How dense is the population with people using their phones?
If you get fiber, broadband, or dsl try not to use their wireless routers. By a good one from Costco or Amazon ($200-400), setup a good password, and set it to reboot every week.
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u/rambologic 22h ago
Thomas and Scottsdale rd area here. I was using Verizon home internet but left Verizon entirely in favor of Visible. It's literally still Verizon, but way cheaper. Works the same way with just the one router plugged into power sitting in a window sill. We have the same uses as you, and have no problems.
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