Cox Vs. DirecTV Vs. Dish

Cox Communications is the third-largest cable and broadband provider in the U.S. and offers various bundling opportunities for customers within certain service areas across the nation. Cox service is available in the parts of the southwestern, central, southeastern and northeastern portions of the United States but not nationwide. Cox offers four bundling plans: Starter, Essential, Preferred and Deluxe. Starter plans include basic cable, Internet and local calling. Essential plans will give customers 75 channels, Internet and a local calling range with features like call waiting and caller ID. The Preferred plans offer customers digital cable and On Demand features, a premium movie channel, broadband Internet and unlimited local and long distance calls. Deluxe plans offer all of the features of the Preferred plans plus digital video recorder service and three premium channels. Cox also offers television service packages like those offered by DirecTV and Dish Network, which includes a starter plan offering limited basic cable and up to 22 local channels; an Essential pack for 75 channels; a Preferred service with 140 channels and more. You can upgrade from basic service for a fee.

DirecTV offers nationwide digital television packages that, for an extra fee, also can work on laptops and smartphones. The prices of the packages vary with the number of channels purchased. The basic service plan, Choice, offers 150 channels. The Choice Extra and Choice Ultimate plans include 210 and 225 channels, respectively. The Premier plan offers 285 channels. High definition and digital video recorder service will cost extra. DirecTV also bundles Internet and phone service with its television service for a fee, but the bundled extra services are outsourced through other companies. The plans are purchased though DirecTV and the non-television services are carried out by the third-party companies.

Dish Network offers different tiers of television service, the first two of which are the basic 60 channels or the upgraded 120 channels plus local sports networks. In higher-level packages, a customer can receive 120 high-definition channels, 18 of which are movie channels. Purchasing the Everything Pak will get customers 315 channels in high definition, including 30 premium movie channels. Dish Network also offers simpler Silver and Gold plans consisting of 75 and 85 channels, respectively. The service is available nationwide.

The bundling services offered by Cox are only available within Cox service ares. If a customer lives outside of a Cox service area or in a rural area, he might have to choose satellite or another cable company to get these digital services. In some of the most rural areas, satellite might be the only service available. Be aware that bad weather can hamper satellite service, so customers considering purchasing satellite service within localities that have frequent bad weather should review the service of local cable companies, if available.