Cox bills this month (Jan 2014) now include 5 speed levels for internet service. I called to get the MINIMUM download speed at the "Preferred" and "Essential" levels of service. Consumers need this info to make an informed decision on what level of service to buy. Average speeds are almost useless. As usual, Cox tried to pass off the speeds it hopes for as minimums, so I asked for a supervisor. Eric in San Diego inormed me that he had no supervisor, which was surprising and highly unlikely. I eventually reached a tech dept supervisor who gave useful info. Turns out that during busy parts of the day, the "Preferred" speed they claim provides 25 Mbits/sec of download speed actually runs between 18 and 20 Mbits/sec. In other words, you will get about 72% of the speed you are paying for at the Preferred level of service. Similarly, Cox's "Essential" is LISTED at 5 Mbits/sec but actually runs between 3.5 and 4.5 Mbits/sec when busy.