Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Sun file photo
Cox Communications is accusing phone company CenturyLink of false advertising in a lawsuit filed last week. Cox Communications’ Henderson Retail and Payment Center is shown here.
Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 | 11:24 a.m.
Related Document (.pdf)
Sun Coverage
Fierce competition for Internet customers in Las Vegas now includes a lawsuit in which cable company Cox Communications accuses phone company CenturyLink of false advertising.
Cox filed suit Friday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas claiming CenturyLink, formerly known as Embarq, has been running advertisements that are misleading by failing to disclose pricing details.
Cox also disputes CenturyLink ads claiming that CenturyLink’s service, compared to Cox’s, is consistently fast no matter how many people are online.
Cox complained that CenturyLink ads promoting "100% Yours" services -- suggesting a direct connection to the Internet -- are false because CenturyLink does not provide a direct, unshared connection to the Internet.
"Cox's high speed Internet service consistently provides a high level of speed performance to its customers, even during times of peak usage on its network," the Cox lawsuit says. "CenturyLink customers do not receive superior speed performance compared to Cox customers during times of peak usage and the download speeds that CenturyLink customers receive can be affected by various congestion-related factors, including traffic levels on the extensive shared Internet backbone and on remote third-party networks."
The lawsuit also complained that while CenturyLink has offered Internet access with speeds up to 10 Mbps (megabits per second), suggesting a price of $29.95 a month, CenturyLink actually charges $54.95 per month for that 10 Mbps service unless the customer accepts a bundling deal. Even with the telephone service bundling deal, the price for 10 Mbps is $39.95 per month, Cox complained.
Asked about the lawsuit, CenturyLink issued this statement Monday: "CenturyLink is confident that its advertising complies with all applicable practices and laws. We intend to fully and vigorously defend this lawsuit.’’
An attorney for CenturyLink, in letters sent to Cox in recent months, has also said CenturyLink modified one of the ads in question in response to Cox's concerns, but otherwise said CenturyLink's advertising is accurate.
"CenturyLink's advertising of its High-Speed Internet service is truthful," CenturyLink attorney Daniel Hubert in Overland Park, Kan., wrote in a Nov. 24 letter, referring to its system of connecting customer homes with the CenturyLink fiber-optic network.
"It is settled that DSL (digital subscriber line) architecture provides for a dedicated connection for customers to the provider's network. This design differs significantly from Cox's High-Speed Internet service that shares the same cable segment when connecting many users to its service," he wrote.
Hubert wrote that while Cox is dealing with network congestion caused when many people use the Cox network at the same time or are using lots of bandwidth, "CenturyLink is confident in its ability to handle its customers' ever-growing appetite for an exceptional, high-capacity High-Speed Internet service."
Cox complained in a Nov. 13 letter about ads that read: "Unlike Cox, (CenturyLink's service is) consistently fast no matter how many people are online."
In response to that complaint, CenturyLink added details about its High-Speed Internet Service to its advertising, Hubert wrote.
In a second letter on Jan. 14, Hubert denied that CenturyLink ads about pricing and "100% Yours" connections for CenturyLink and Pure Internet service are misleading.
"CenturyLink firmly believes it sufficiently discloses the pricing, available speeds and other requirements in the offers Cox cited," Hubert wrote.
Cox needs to think about the quality of their customer service. They believed for a long time that they offered the only game in town and they could treat their clients like garbage and they did. That's how they treated me. I went to another service and have never looked back.
They can sue up one side and down the other but until they start treating their customers like the valuable asset they truly are, Cox will be on their way down and out.
COX is built on a LAN system. Of course it slows when a lot of people are on it. Does traffic on I-15 slow down during rush hour?
If you can't beat them, sue them! Right Cox?
Embarq, though, doesn't give you a dedicated line. It's the same as Cox's, but Cox Communications has ripped up a lot of traditional coaxial cable and installed fiber throughout the valley. The only "log-jam" occurs at the fiber node, which is the same for Embar or CenturyLink or whomever. Plus, Silverstater, it's a WAN. We're not on a local area network...
I spent 2 years working at Cox Communications as a tech from 06-08, hence the info on the fiber nodes...
Oh, another thing... the reason why Embarq might boast about superior speeds is because they never have peak traffic. They don't have nearly as many customers as Cox Communications does. I'd like to see them scale their network to the size of Cox's without having some service issues...
What Vegas needs is some real COMPETITION in the high speed internet arena. Bring YAHOO, AT&T, VERIZON, COMCAST, etc to the party. SOMEONE should be able to offer a no-frills high speed internet connection for LESS than $20 a month with NO GIMMICKS and no other "bundle" required.
I've had both COX and EMBARQ - their customer service is equally abyssmal. As far as the service itself, COX is better, but that's like saying death by lethal injection is superior to death by hanging.
Isn't there some sort of business relationship between the Sun/Greenspun and Cox Communications? If so, shouldn't it be disclosed?
Read up....
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-10630...
What is the story about Clear?
Is it reliable?
How fast?
I'm tired of being screwed over by Cox. Wait, that came out wrong.
SgtRock,
Be careful of clear, they don't look very reputable. Check out the BBB:
http://southernnevada.bbb.org/bbb_rated_...
I also haven't heard great things from a few people I know who have them. A little food for thought.
All this bickering and fighting over a net speed that became obsolete before the 21st century. In Lafayette, Louisiana, the local utility provides 50Mb to the home, HD video and VOIP phone with unlimited long distance as a bundle for less than $200 per month. That's a city with about 150K population.
Of course, Cox sued and pulled every delaying tactic down there for a decade as well.
http://lus.org
Some Reporter needs to do an article about
NFL Redzone Channel
which Cox refuses to CARRY
but is available on Dish TV
for $7.00 a month.
You can SEE ALL SCORING in the NFL Games.
ALL OF THEM.
No commercials.
LVKen7@Gmail.com
SgtRock,
Be careful of ??, they don't look very reputable? Check out the BBB for Cox:
http://southernnevada.bbb.org/bbb_rated_...
It wont matter until Centurylink goes FTTH (fiber to the home). Then they can offer 100Mb/s internet and hundreds of TV channels.
SgtRock
I have heard nothing but good things about Clear from people that have it and your link to the BBB is for clearwire out of Las Vegas. Clear is out of Miami FL please check your facts next time
I started by going with Embarq. I had it for about 4 months. It was very unreliable. I consistently had to call and have a tech over to my house. I finally had it and called Cox. I do not like Cox but the internet works 100% of the time. I get satellite television because Cox tv is blurry. DirecTV picture is better.
I recently switch from Cox to DirectTv for TV.
I was shocked....shocked on how much the the picture improved.
Both were supplying 1080i signals....jpcortez...you are right....Cox is not as clear as Direct TV.
Cox is a PITA. I went to get rid of my landline phone, which costs about $25 a month, and guess what? I would save $4. Bundling. So I still have all of them.
I would like to try Clear, but my brother worked for them, and said that they control your downloads, and slow you down if you're downloading too much. I always liked Dish Network when I traveled on the road all over the country, so I'm perplexed. How do I get the best value with Internet and Cable? Screw the phone. Comments are appreciated...
Cox sucks! Especially the channel tiers they set up. I watch about fifteen channels but have to purchase all of the tiers because of the way they are set up, By design I'm sure. At least I don't have to worry about a DVR, They loop the same shows over and over. You should be able to buy these channels ala carte instead of the garbage thats thrown in like your getting some big deal.
Rock, I have clear and its not quite as fast as cox. For what i do on the computer it makes no difference. Your right about the picture difference between cox and direct tv too, i'm into my home theater and the audio doesnt match up either. Plus direct tv has more HD channels. Cox lives up to its name, i would go back to rabbit ears before i would give cox another cent.
Centurylink/Embarq has the WORST customer service ever! They make the Cox customer service look like a 5 star hotel. Centurylink/Embarq = total scumbags.
I recently (on jan 31, 2010) got a letter stating that Cox was increasing all prices of their product about 10% so their internet is now $46.99 for 8-10MBPS and $59.99 for 12-18Mbps. It's not getting any cheaper and at this rate it'll be $100 in no time. I wanted to switch to Embarq, but their website is really ambiguous. No where on the site does it state how the internet is hooked up, is it cable or dsl or dial-up? They make it really hard to see what there rates are and the ones that are listed are for the cheapest internet ($29.95) and that was like 768kbps. It's terrible this lack of competition in LV. I'm considering just putting internet on my phone and calling it a day. Then I can bundle my internet with my cell phone.
Speaking of which the bundles are a joke unless you really need a land line and watch TV. You think you're saving money, but you end up just paying more money. Kinda like promo's at grocery stores 1 Ltr Cokes are $.69 (but only if you buy 6- in small writing). Well, if you just need one you don't save any money by buying six.
i live in arizona and cox has an advertising claiming over 450 programming choices for hd channels. read the fine print and it explains that that is the total number of shows on during a typical week. who's screwing who on falsehoods?
Clear and Clearwire LLC are the same...Clearwire is the name of the company and Clear is the brand that they sell.
Just moved here 2 months ago. There was NO WAY we were going to pay cox' ludicrous prices for internet and TV. Went with the cheaper($35) clear plan and rabbit ears. Yeah, we don't get history channel, natgeo or AE but the broadcast channels look great. Hardly worth $50 or whatever for 3 or 4 channels we watch amidst a ton of s hitty ones. Almost all my neighbors have a sat dish of some sort.
Although I must admit, while the clear service is always up and running, it is SUBSTANIALLY slower than cable. Still faster than your iPhone but forget hulu and youtube without major hiccups. I'd rather deal with that than all this bundling bullsh it.
BTW, Cox advertised prices are also a bait and switch...
Cox does have better On Demand than Direct TV.
Direct TV has much better picture quality.
Direct TV has more HD channels.
Some of the Direct TV purchased movies are 1080p.
Cox offers zero 1080p....anyway their 1080i picture quality is lower than Direct TV 1080i...at least at my house.
Direct TV has much better DVR and DVR software (I can watch stuff stored on any DVR in my house). I can record a show using my Ipod with Direct TV.
Cox does have reliable and fast internet service.
Embraq/Century Link internet is probably cheaper...don't know about the quality or speed. I get freaked out because they keep changing their name.
Clear is not as fast as Cox and probably not as reliable (at this point in time).
Internet service:
Cox has majority internet share in Las Vegas. There average "Allowed" dl speed is often 700kps or less. My speed rarely exceeds 210kps.
Clear internet is partially owned by Cox and their internet speed averages less than cable speed. The strategy is to have people purchase Clear service at speeds less than cable does to pay more for the same service.
Pure (Embarq) internet service uses DSL optic fiber line service but their range is limited.
They want you to pay $30 per month for variable service with a 5 dollar optic modem rental fee.
The service for the west and southern areas of Las Vegas would be at the max of 1500kps at average speeds of 700kps. Note that after one year the price of service will increase at least 50 percent according to a customer service rep.
In summation, there is no competition in Las Vegas or in most of the United States. To get competition you need utilities and wimax competition to enter the market that are not owned by the present providers. Also the present service speeds are not broadband and leaves America behind Asia and northern Europe.
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained vulgar language.
Call them whatever..Sprint-Embarq-Centurylink whatever, truth is they are crooks. They are a dying monopoly which will not invest in their dead network infrastructure. Instead they lie in Ads and to their customers faces. They lied to me for 7 years about my connection.
I hope Cox shuts them down and saves the public the headaches.
I have centurylink in Arkansas...trust me, compared to Time Warner Road Runner cable internet service...they suck. Sometimes they are as slow as dial up!! But, unfortunately, until I move back to Vegas I will have to deal with the lack of modern day cable internet here in the razorback state!
Who cares when you can get great service from just about anyone with your own sattelite... Just ask the govt. they do it that way....
Is Cox serious with this crap?!?!? Maybe Cox should think about their level of customer service or the lack thereof, maybe think about offering some wireless support/service instead of whining about someone that made that innovative jump to join the new world technology...
For anyone interested I spoke to COX about an error on my bill for which they charged for a WIRE-LINK PLAN it's $2.99 and it's an "automatic charge". I told the rep I didn't sign anything stating I wanted this add-on service and I didn't approve the charge. They credited my account then and there. I think all of the CSR's all know this is a bogus charge so they don't even argue when you bring it to their attention. So check your COX bill, because you may be getting charged for something you never signed up for. How they get away with that bogus charge I will never know?
The lawsuit is a red herring. My guess is that both companies' pricing structures are being determined by their local VP's - together on the TPC Golf Course in Summerlin.
fturla:
Cox is not a partial owner of Clear - as you stated. Clear is a joint venture with Sprint (used to own the local phone company until recently), Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House (a cable company), Cisco, Google, Intel and Clearwire. Again, Cox is not and has not been a part of the Joint Venture that developed, launched and runs the Clear WiMax service. Other cable companies? yes; Sprint? yes; Clearwire? yes; Cox? no.
I heard the advertisements of Century High Speed internet nd called to find out if it would be a better deal than the one i have with Cox Cable. I feel that Cox is charging their customers too much for internet service and their rates keep going up even for existing subscribers.
Whenever something comes up offering a 24.95 for same services i check it out. I talked with one of Century Links marketing people and had to really ask allot of questions before he told me it was a phone connection, dsl line. I would have to replace my modem (he told me at first i could keep my existing equipment but as i asked more questions i found out i could not.)
I would have had to buy another modem (a dsl modem) which they would gladly rent to me for $4 a month ...
I would have to pay for service $9.95 a month (something Cox includes 7 days/24 hours) and Cox's technical service is excellent.
When it came down to it, there was just a few dollars difference. To make a change from a cable modem to dial up dsl serviceo?
Now i don't know what their technical capacity really is til I try it. Am I ready to shave a few dollars and find out what I already suspect?
I don't think so, I think they are very misleading with their advertisement and the way they are offering the service. The person i spoke with kept calling it broadband service, something i am sure it is not.
I hope they can provide some competiton for Cox because as I said before I think Cox is charging far too much for theirs. But for now I'll stay with Cox because i know what I'm getting. High Speed Cable Network and Great Service.