Cox rolls out wireless service
Atlanta-based Cox Communications will announce Friday it will offer its new wireless service in three U.S. markets.
The company, which already offers cable, Internet and landline phone service, is launching wireless in Hampton Roads, Va., Omaha, Neb., and Orange County, Calif.
The rollout was planned and promoted for earlier this year but delayed, spokesperson Jill Ullman said, because "we wanted to make sure we got everything right. We're in [wireless] for the long haul."
The launch marks a major step in the company's ambitious effort to enter a highly competitive market occupied by players such as AT&T and Verizon.
Cox Wireless will be available to all consumers in the three markets, including the 1.5 million subscribers Cox has there for its other services.
Cox said it expects to have its greatest success with customers who already take some of its other services. More than two-thirds of Cox's current subscribers now take more than one of its services, a bundling that offers one-stop shopping convenience and potential integration of all its services.
The company expects to bring wireless to other markets where it operates.
Industry analysts have said cable companies like Cox seeking to enter the wireless business will have to distinguish themselves from competitors by offering, among other things, attractive price plans.
Cox said it will offer what it is billing as "Unbelievably Fair" plans to set it apart. It said it will be the first wireless carrier to provide cash back on customers' bills for unused minutes each month, up to $20 a month. Typically, unused minutes are lost or carried over month-to-month with no cash benefit.
Cox Wireless also will automatically provide customers with free text message alerts that tell them when they are approaching their maximum monthly minutes and messages.
Stephen Bye, Cox vice president of wireless services, said the company has made "a very serious commitment to wireless." He added, "We do expect to generate a return on this investment."
