Best Cable ISPs

Cox, Cablevision and EarthLink best for most

As noted earlier, the J.D. Power survey reports on customer-satisfaction ratings by geographic area. In the West, Cox gets top ranking, followed by EarthLink. Even though these two ISPs don't get the very top rankings in other parts of the country, they still get respectable ratings, well above average. Cox gets better ratings than EarthLink for speed, reliability and service, however, and the survey lumps EarthLink's cable and DSL services into one score.

Cox provides Internet cable service ranging from a basic 1.5 Mbps (*est. $27 per month) to 12 Mbps (*est. $57 per month) -- with a 5 Mbps priced between (*est. $42 per month). These include cable TV service; it actually costs a bit more to get the Internet service without TV. Availability is scattered around the country. The PC World survey reports above-average ratings for speed, service and support. A smaller survey at ConsumerWorld.com also ranks Cox as the best cable ISP for customer service, technical support and overall satisfaction.

EarthLink cable ranges from 3 Mbps up to 10 Mbps, with availability of various speeds and prices varying depending on the area. It uses cable lines provided by Time Warner or Bright House, plus a few by Comcast, but EarthLink cable may not be available in all the cable areas these providers serve. For 3 Mbps and 6 Mbps speeds, EarthLink offers attractive introductory prices (*est. $20 to $30 per month) -- but the rates go up sharply after that. Judging from our difficulty in trying to get accurate prices from EarthLink, customer service can be frustrating. EarthLink does provide 20 hours of free dial-up service per month in addition to the cable Internet connection -- useful for traveling or for when the cable service is disrupted.

As noted earlier, other cable ISPs outrank both Cox and EarthLink in areas outside the West. In the last two annual J.D. Power surveys, Wow! (*est. $41 to $73 per month) is the cable ISP that tops the ratings in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. Advertised download speeds range from 2 to 15 Mbps, and the most expensive option boosts upload speeds to 2 Mbps. You can bundle 15 Mbps Internet service with phone and TV (*est. $100 per month).

In Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, Insight Communications also gets good ratings in the J.D. Power survey. This cable company provides advertised speeds of 10 Mbps (*est. $40 per month) to 20 Mbps (*est. $50 per month), with various bundles with TV and phone also available.

Road Runner cable Internet service works through any of four cable providers, depending on the geographic area. In the South, where it works with Bright House Networks, Road Runner (*est. $30 per month) earns top ratings in the J.D. Power survey, with advertised speeds up to 15 Mbps. When Road Runner works via Time Warner cable (*est. $25 to $50 per month), however, customers rate it lower both at J.D. Power and at PC Magazine.

In the East, Cablevision (Optimum Online) (*est. $30 to 40 per month) earns top ratings in the PC Magazine survey as well as at J.D. Power. It's only available, however, in some (but not all) areas of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. The basic Internet connection (*est. $30 per month) carries an advertised speed of up to 15 Mbps, but Optimum Boost (*est. $40 per month) is advertised at 30 Mbps. Also available is a phone/cable/Internet bundle (*est. $90 per month).