Cable modem speed dilemma

[michaelbex]

I hope someone can help me with this because the folks over at Cox Cable cannot. I have what is called Cox Preferred internet service which includes up to something like 18mbps download speed. I have been testing with Speedtest.com and have been getting 28-32. I called cox and upgraded to the Premier service which is more expensive and offers speeds of 25mbps and up to 30ish with powerboost. I called them back and asked them why am I getting the same speeds on both plans. They disconnected and reconnected while we were on the phone through both plans and I still tested at 30 plus on both plans. They didn't have an explanation for me so I switched back to the cheaper Preferred plan. The changes I have made to my system are as follows: I used to have about a 70 foot stretch of cable from my cable box to my modem. I moved the modem to within 24 inches of the box with a 2 foot cable. I changed from a Belkin n router to an Asus dual band router and put everything on top of my kitchen cabinets just opposite of the wall where the cable box is connected to the house. I did all of this before I switched plans. Could any of this matter or should I just not be rocking the boat?

 

[Emerald]

why are you complaining if you get higher speed than you pay for?

 

[michaelbex]

I am not complaining, I would just like to understand why my speed is faster, if it is something I did or something they have done because I want to upgrade my speed but I now don't have the next level to upgrade to, essentially, although the speed I am getting is faster than what I pay for, it is not as fast as I want it to be.

 

[michaelbex]

I found another test site testmy.net and after some more testing, my results are not nearly as impressive as I had previously thought. I am beginning to think that some of these test sites don't give a completely accurate picture of your download speed. I am going to upgrade again and test the speed on the testmy site which offers longer, more detailed tests (hopefully more accurate) to see if I can see a speed difference.

 

[michaelbex]

Cable tech is coming by today, they did a check on my modem from their office and told me that while the signal to my modem is good, the signal they are getting back is "critical". I guess that means bad. They had recently sped up their internet speeds "Cox cable" and I am still only getting as high as 8 mbps per the testmy.net site of their advertised 22 mbps download speeds. I hope it is something they can fix and speed me up

 

[michaelbex]

UPDATE: Cable tech came by and fixed something on my cable box which got rid of the critical error thing from my signal returning from my modem back to Cox. He said I should be happy with my speed as it is faster than the advertized speed for my package. He suggested that I don't upgrade to the next package to get faster speeds but instead get a new 3.0 modem (mine is 4 years old and 2.0) to sustain faster speeds for longer. I am getting a Motorola SB6121 to replace my modem.