The Heeley family have been Cox customers for over 15 years, buying cable television, broadband, and phone service that costs them nearly $200 a month.

With nearly $2,400 a year going into Cox’s bank accounts from their family alone, John Heeley was a little upset Cox sent him a warning message about his family’s “excessive Internet usage.”

“It seems we went over our usage cap by 40GB in April thanks to a rotten spring and a lot of Netflix viewing,” Heeley tells Stop the Cap! “I didn’t even understand the letter because I never knew there was a cap on the Internet.”

Cox, like certain other providers, have arbitrary usage limits on broadband accounts, with larger allowances granted to customers who upgrade to faster speeds for more money.

Heeley’s fiancé Shelley was angry after realizing just how much the couple already spends with Cox.

“I called them on the phone and the first thing they want to do is get you to upgrade and spend even more money with them,” she tells Stop the Cap! “They tried to vaguely threaten our service if we continued to ‘overuse the Internet’ and suggested we cut back or cancel Netflix which they think is the reason we went over the limit.”

Shelley says she was born at night, but not last night.

“How convenient they want you to stop using Netflix, Amazon, or other online video services that their cable TV competes with,” Shelley says. “It is unfair competition.”

Shelley requested a Cox supervisor and threatened the company right back, telling Cox if they sent one more letter like that, the Heeley family would take their business elsewhere.

“He told us quietly we could ignore the letter and any future letters and they will add a note on our account,” Shelley tells us. “He confided they have customers going over the limit all the time and the letter is really about educating customers about usage.”

It seems if Cox threatens you, threatening them back with account cancellation is usually the end of the story.

We found Broadband Reports‘ readers who exceed usage limits with Cox largely unafraid of any consequences:

• Rakeesh: I’ve gone everywhere from 300gb to 700gb over the cap for the last 19 months in a row. You’re fine.
• Skeechan: I have gone over too. The nastygrams seem to only be sent in selective markets. I am on Ultimate, perhaps that is why they haven’t sent me one since I have nowhere to go plan-wise. And being triple play since 1998 offers up a reliable and high ARPU. Of course that assumes they actually give a crap about common sense.
• Maltz: I went over my cap by about 30GB last month and got an email telling me that I was over. That was the end of it.

A freak spring snowstorm has stolen CenturyLink’s thunder.

A freak spring snowstorm has covered up much of the anticipated publicity for CenturyLink’s plans to launch a trial of gigabit fiber broadband for 48,000 customers in western Omaha.

The phone company announced the pilot project this week amid a historic spring storm that dumped several inches of heavy, wet snow on parts of Nebraska. The media devoted most of its attention to the weather.

CenturyLink admits its gigabit fiber service is a pilot project designed to test consumer demand and the tolerance of local officials for limiting upgrades to selected neighborhoods and customers most likely to buy the service. CenturyLink has priced the gigabit service comparably to Google Fiber — $79.95 a month if bundled with other CenturyLink products. Standalone broadband is nearly twice as expensive — $149.95 a month.

“CenturyLink is pleased to offer its Omaha customers ultra-fast broadband speeds up to 1Gbps to help keep pace with growing broadband demands,” said Karen Puckett, chief operating officer. “This demonstrates our commitment to deliver communications solutions that provide our customers with the technology they need to enhance their quality of life, now and into the future.”

CenturyLink will not be building the fiber network from scratch. The company already runs a 100Gbps middle-mile/institutional fiber network in Omaha that reaches certain business clients and serves as a conduit for CenturyLink customer traffic. CenturyLink will supplement that by using the remnants of its predecessor’s long-gone Qwest Choice TV service. The company will spend millions to run fiber connections to homes and businesses, but around 9,800 residents formerly served by Qwest’s television service will be able to sign up for CenturyLink Lightspeed Broadband as early as Monday. Others may have to wait until as late as October.

CenturyLink now sells up to 40Mbps speeds in Omaha, with a 300GB monthly usage cap. The company has not said if it intends to apply a usage limit on its fiber customers.

The phone company’s largest and fastest competitor is Cox Cable, which sells up to 150/20Mbps service for $99.99 a month.

Cox Cable cannot match CenturyLink’s speeds at the moment, but does not think most Omaha residents need or want gigabit fiber.

“It is important to note that our most popular Internet package remains the one that provides speeds of 25Mbps, which meets the needs of the majority of customers,” said Cox spokesman Todd Smith. “We will continue to talk with our customers and invest in product enhancements to provide an optimal broadband experience.”

Only around 12% of metropolitan Omaha will have access to the experimental fiber service, primarily those living in West Omaha. The network will bypass residents that live further east. The boundaries of the forthcoming fiber network are notable: West Omaha comprises mostly affluent middle and upper class professionals and is one of the wealthiest areas in the metropolitan region. Winning a right to offer service on a limited basis within Omaha is an important consideration for telecom companies like CenturyLink.

AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink and other telecommunications companies are seeking deregulation that would end universal service mandates that require companies to build their networks in every neighborhood, rich and poor.

Cable and telephone companies have taken careful note Google Fiber is being allowed to provide service only where demand can be found — a significant change in long-standing municipal policies that demand cable and phone companies provide access to nearly every resident.

CenturyLink delivered a “between the lines” message to local officials when it suggested it might expand its fiber network elsewhere in Omaha and beyond, but only after evaluating the project for “positive community support, competitive parity in the marketplace and the ability to earn a reasonable return on its investment.”

In other words, keeping zoning and permit battles (and residential complaints about construction projects) to a bare minimum, allowing the company the right to choose where it will (and won’t) deploy service, and making sure people will actually buy the service are all the key factors for fiber expansion.

AT&T said much the same thing when it vaguely promised a gigabit fiber network to compete with Google in Austin.

Google may have unintentionally handed their competitors a new carrot: deregulate us in return for fancy fiber upgrades that customers crave.

In perspective: CenturyLink’s fiber trial will only impact about 12% of the total population of metropolitan Omaha, primarily in and near affluent West Omaha.

[flv width=”480″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WOWT Omaha CenturyLink Gigabit 5-1-13.flv[/flv]

WOWT in Omaha spent less than a minute reporting on CenturyLink’s forthcoming gigabit fiber trial. A spring snowstorm preoccupied most of Omaha’s media instead.  (1 minute)

Cox Cable, on the heels of announcing another rate increase, is earning customer ire for downright nasty customer service.

Customers dealing with two different service blackouts and a flood have gotten a thumbs-down response from Cox when looking for some service credits and understanding.

‘We don’t give refunds,’ came the reply from one customer service agent called by Stop the Cap! reader Jennifer from Providence, R.I. Her service went out in mid-December after a burst water pipe in the neighborhood flooded their home, making in uninhabitable until a mold mitigation team completed repairs. After fleeing to stay with relatives, it suddenly dawned on Jennifer that Cox Cable kept her waiting on hold so long, she hung up and forgot to call them back.

“All I needed to do was notify them we were not going to be using our Cox service for about a month and we needed to suspend our account,” Jennifer tells us. “When I finally got a customer service agent, the first thing I heard was him blowing his nose several times before he finally introduced himself.”

The surly agent was not interested in Jennifer’s plight or her request to suspend service.

“Your flooding problems are yours to solve and we can’t help you with suspending service unless you are going away for much longer than that,” came the reply. “And we are certainly not able to give you a refund either. It isn’t our fault.”

Jennifer was stunned at the nasty attitude she got, especially after other companies were far more understanding.

“I had nothing but sympathy from Verizon, the power company, and even the newspaper which we also stopped,” she says. “Cox could not have cared less and we did not even create the problem.”

Cox customers in Ohio also got the same special touch from Cox’s representatives.

Rev. Dave Connor from Lakewood was looking for a $1.50 credit for a few local channels that were stripped off his cable lineup because of yet another carriage-for-money dispute. Raycom wanted more cash for its two local channels and Cox did not want to pay so off they went from the lineup, at least temporarily. But the cable operator did not want to give any refunds for the missing channels customers had been paying to receive.

It took several escalating phone calls before Cox finally relented to a one-time credit, putting a sour taste in the Rev. Dave’s mouth.

“Some ‘friend in the digital age,’” he told the Lakewood Patch, referencing the company’s ad slogan.

Before others got the idea they deserved a refund as well, Dana Alexander Nolfe, director of communications for Cox, hurried out to let customers know they can just forget it.

Nolfe told the Patch the refund granted Connor was a one-time “gesture of goodwill,” adding no one else will likely be given a similar refund.

“We are not crediting our customers as a result of the Raycom dispute,” Nolfe said. “We offer a package of channels, not individual channels on our lineup. We regularly make changes to our lineup, mostly with additions, but at times, regrettably, when a channel is removed from our lineup.”

Ian King called Cox “the worst,” noting the company refused refunds for customers left without service for days after the remnants of Hurricane Sandy meandered across Ohio.

“Cox is nothing but a PR campaign that constantly tells us how wonderful they are, but in reality they could care less,” King said.

Jennifer says she won’t forget.

“After we move back, one of the first things I will be doing is dropping them and their smug representative on their heads.”

Cox Cable customers in Arizona, Florida and beyond face a significant rate hike for cable, broadband, and phone service in 2013 according to a notification from the company. Rates are going up for most individual services, although customers in selected package bundles or on promotions will avoid increases for now.

Cox claims “increasing programming expenses” and the “rising costs of doing business” are responsible for the forthcoming higher bills.

In Arizona, Cox’s prices change as follows:

Cox TV and Advanced TV:
Cox TV Essential will change from $60.79 to $63.99.
Advanced TV will change from $62.59 to $63.99.
Preferred TV will change from $69.59 to $73.99.
Super Mix will change from $69.59 to $70.99.
Premier TV will change from $80.59 to $83.99.
Ultimate TV will change from $122.58 to $125.99.
Advanced TV standard definition receivers will change from $6.99 to $8.50.

Plus Package fee will change from $10 to $5. (only decrease)
Variety Pak will change from $7.00 to $10.00.
Sports and Information Pak will change from $7.00 to $8.50.
Single premium channel rate will change from $14.99 to $15.00.
Two premium channels rate will change from $23.49 to $25.00
Three premium channel rate will change from $31.99 to $34.00.
Four premium channel rate will change from $39.49 to $42.00.

Telephone:
Cox Digital Telephone Essential will change from $19.99 to $21.99.
Voice Mail will change from $7.99 to $8.99.
To comply with federal regulatory guidelines for the Access Recovery Charge, the FCC Access Charge will increase by $0.12. Toll Restriction will change from $2.75 to $1.49.
Simply 5 Long Distance will change from $3.99 to $4.95.
For information on other telephone rate changes, please visit Cox.com

Internet:
Starter will change from $25.99 to $26.99.
Essential will change from $37.99 to $39.99.
Preferred will change from $53.99 to $55.99.
Premier will change from $64.99 to $67.99.
Ultimate will change from $94.99 to $99.99.

(Thanks to ‘BryanInPHX’ for compiling the changes.)

In Florida, Cox customers will pay $68.49 for “Advanced TV” service — nearly $70 for what some would consider “basic cable.” Equipment is going up as well.

Advanced TV standard definition receivers increase from $6.99 to $8.50 a month. Advanced TV High Definition and DVR receivers rise from $7.99 to $8.50.

Many Cox Internet customers in Florida will also pay between $3-4 a month more for their broadband service.

Cox injected this pop up message when customers launched their web browsers over the weekend, notifying them about the e-mail outage. (Courtesy: Broadband Reports forum reader ‘bb44’)

Our friends at Broadband Reports have been tracking Cox’s near-nationwide e-mail outage that left millions of customers without access to their company-supplied accounts over the weekend.

Customers in Rhode Island, Nebraska, Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, and beyond began noticing the problem on Friday. Only Cox’s customers in the western and mountain states seemed unaffected.

Cox blamed the problem on a “failing server.” In an effort to reduce calls from complaining customers, Cox used a browser injection notification message alerting subscribers whenever they opened their web browsers. Sending e-mail to all affected subscribers was obviously not an option.

Cox customers, including many small businesses that still rely on their Cox-supplied e-mail addresses were very unhappy about the length of the outage.

By Sunday afternoon customers like Bill Roland of Ocala, Fla. were fed up.

“Heads should roll over this one and we should all get a credit on our bills,” Roland wrote on Broadband Reports’ Cox Forum. “I don’t really care when it’s out for 15 minutes in the middle of the night due to a maintenance window, but going on 48 hours with no end is sight is not acceptable.”

Roland would have to wait until early Monday morning for the queued mail held since the outage to begin slowly arriving in his mailbox.

Cox shared this statement about the outage:

As of 6:30 am ET, access to Cox email has been restored to all customers previously affected by the email outage. All customers should now be able to send and receive email messages.

If you lost access to your email during this outage, we have queued your emails received since Friday. You may continue to receive these queued emails over the course of the next several days. These will arrive gradually and may not be delivered in chronological order.

Now that service is restored we are moving forward with replacing email storage platform equipment and implementing measures to prevent a reoccurrence of these issues. We will remain intensely focused on this effort until all queued email messages are successfully delivered. Technical teams continue to be on high alert and monitoring systems closely.

We deeply regret the impact this outage has had on our customers and truly appreciate their patience as all Cox resources continue to be focused on this restoration effort.

Cox customers can call the company and request a courtesy credit for the outage, which the company is providing to those particularly upset by the e-mail loss.

Among those hardest hit: small businesses like those in Providence, RI which are particularly dependent on answering e-mail from customers during the holiday season. Several made their apologies to customers on their websites.

The best solution to this dilemma is to avoid using ISP-supplied e-mail accounts. Cox customers using Gmail or other web-based e-mail providers never realized there was an outage.

“The best reason not to use your ISP e-mail account is that it ties you down with your broadband provider,” writes Cox customers and Stop the Cap! reader Sam Hernandez. “I bought my own domain name for around $7 and I use Gmail to handle everything and have been able to switch providers or move to another city and never have to change my e-mail address. Gmail has proved to be very reliable as well.”

[flv width=”640″ height=”363″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WJAR Providence Cox reports email outages now fixed 12-16-12.flv[/flv]

WJAR in Providence reports Cox’s near-nationwide weekend e-mail outage caused problems for area small businesses during the critically-important holiday season.  (1 minute)