Well, after having problems with Cox Communications with Internet and TV where we were getting intermittent interruptions, Cox came out and checked a few things. The Box on the pole in the ally was failing, and was causing everyone in the whole neighborhood trouble. Well, I can now tell you what our speeds were going up and down:

previous:

Up: 700Kbs, Down: 11Mbps

now:

Up: 3.5Mbps, Down: 24Mbps

They said there was a HUGE gap in the up and down transmissions, as well as a lot of noise. So they replaced the ENTIRE wiring up and down the poles, as well as to the houses, and replaced the boxes on the poles. I couldn't be any happier ^_^