Bulk internet: that’s a HARD NO from me!
I recently learned that some local apartment communities have signed a deal with Cox Communications to offer bulk Internet service. The property will bill the resident directly for this service, along with utilities such as water, sewer, and trash service through RUBS (Ratio Utility Billing System).
At this time, it will be optional and offered at a reduced cost if the resident takes the very specific Internet service, a savings of roughly 1/3 off the regular price, initially. This, in theory, sounds good, but I have heard similar bulk Internet systems turn into having to take the service that the property signed with, i.e. not being able to choose another service, which for me, would be an absolute deal breaker.
Although I work in the multi-family industry, what I write is solely my view; much of it is speculation. Given that the service that has done the deal is Cox, if I were in the market for an apartment rental, it would not be one that has one of these bulk internet deals in place. Cox burned their bridge with me when they lied to me concerning the modem hardware I purchased, in an effort to try to get me to rent a modem.
This is 100% speculation. I fear this will become a mandated service, where the Internet will become a property-wide ‘amenity’, billed to the resident, whether they want it or not. If residents accept this, it will quickly become the standard across the market, as the property will get a cut of the subscription fee in return for pushing their service on residents. TV, Internet, and phone services should always be a choice!
Further speculation on my part. I believe Cox is trying to set up these deals with apartment communities because it is losing market share to AT&T Fiber, which is cheaper and tangibly better, along with other fiber options, such as Ideatek, being rolled out in the area. For example, I have a 1 Gbps symmetrical fiber connection from AT&T, which costs me $80; that is $10 less than Cox’s 500 Mbps non-introductory rate service, which is inferior, despite its up to 500 Mbps download; the upload is only 10 Mbps.
Before AT&T Fiber, if you wanted anything faster than ADSL’s 8 Mb, your only choice was Cox. Thankfully, we now have some viable options outside of Cox. Instead of trying to compete on price and service, Cox is looking to do deals with multi-family providers, taking away choice from many renters.
Update, June 5, 2025: My suspicions have been confirmed. I learned that one property is using an Internet service that will be mandatory for new residents. If the service is any good, it’s a good deal; however, this company is an unknown quantity. Reading the reviews for this company, it seems their service is not good. I am being deliberately vague, as this is somewhat privileged information, but I will say that the company providing this service is not Cox, as I mentioned above regarding another property.