Cox Communications

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Cox Communications, Inc.
Type	Private
Founded	1962
Headquarters	1400 Lake Hearn Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30319 U.S.A.
Key people	Patrick J. Esser, President James C. Kennedy, Chairman Anne Cox Chambers, Director
Industry	Telecommunications
Products	Cable Television, Broadband Internet, VoIP
Revenue	$7.054B (2005) [1]
Net income	Not currently available
Owner	Cox Enterprises
Employees	22,350 (2004)
Website	http://www.cox.com

Cox Communications, also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television and telecommunications services in the United States. It is the third-largest^[2] cable television provider in the United States, serving more than 5.9 million customers, including 2.9 million digital cable subscribers, 3.5 million Internet subscribers, and 2.2 million digital telephone subscribers.^[3] Its animated spokesman is named Digital Max.

[edit] History

Corporate logo through 2007

Cox Enterprises expanded into the cable television industry in 1962 by purchasing a number of cable systems in Lewistown, Lock Haven and Tyrone, Pennsylvania, followed by systems in California, Oregon and Washington. The subsidiary company, Cox Broadcasting Corporation (later to be renamed), was not officially formed until 1964, when it was established as a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1999 Cox acquired the cable television assets of Media General in Fairfax County and Fredericksburg, Virginia.

In 2000 Cox Communications acquired Multimedia Cablevision with assets in Kansas, Oklahoma and North Carolina.

On November 1, 2005, Cox announced the sale of all of its Texas, Missouri, Mississippi and North Carolina properties, as well as some systems in Arkansas, California, Louisiana and Oklahoma to Cebridge Communications. The sale closed in 2006 and those systems were transitioned by their new owner from Cox branding to Suddenlink Communications.

On May 14, 2007, Cox announced that they had sold their investment in Discovery Communications for the Travel Channel, related assets, and $1.3 billion.^[4]

In 2007, Diversity Inc. magazine named Cox Communications #25 in its Top 50 Companies for Diversity. Cox climbed to the sixth position on Diversity Inc's 2008 list. ^[5] Also in 2008, Cox was named #8 on the Top 10 Companies for African Americans.^[6]

[edit] Other business units

• Cox Business: Provides business level video, voice and Internet services.
• Cox Media: Advertising Sales
• Travel Media, Inc.: Travel Channel and TravelChannel.com

[edit] Privatization

In 2004, Cox Enterprises announced its intention to purchase those shares of Cox Communications which they did not own. A $6.6 Billion tender offer was completed in December of that year, and Cox Communications has been a wholly owned subisidary since. ^[7] This represents the second time Cox has been taken private by Cox Enterprises.

[edit] Residential Services

[edit] Video

Cox distributes standard definition and high definition cable television programming, including Digital Cable. ^[8] Cox has no plans to discontinue an analog level of service as part of the DTV transition. ^[9] Cox launched Digital Cable on its Orange County system in 1997. In February, 2008 Cox started to implement Switched Digital Video (SDV) technology in some of their markets, making much of their digital cable incompatible with CableCard.

[edit] Digital Video Recorder

Cox offers Digital Video Recorder service, provided using Motorola or Scientific Atlanta equipment depending on the local market. ^[10]

[edit] OnDemand

Cox offers video on demand service in the majority of its markets under the name On Demand. On Demand offerings vary by market and by operator, and some markets include High Definition. Cox offers replays of ABC and NBC programming in some markets while Comcast includes offerings BBC America and CBS. ^[11]

[edit] High Speed Internet

Cox offers three levels of High Speed Internet in all of its markets, Value, Preferred and Premier. Cox initially launched High Speed Internet in 1996 in its Orange County system.^[12] Cox licensed the PowerBoost technology in 2007 and offers it on the Preferred and Premier level of service. ^[13] Top service download speeds are between 12 and 15 Mbit/s. Cox High Speed Internet won the PC Magazine Readers' Choice Award for High Speed Internet in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. ^[14]

[edit] Digital Telephone

Cox offers telephone service in the majority of its footprint. The technology varies between circuit switched and VoIP depending on market. ^[15] Cox has won multiple J.D. Power and Associates award for it's telephone service ^[16]

[edit] Current systems

[edit] Arizona

• Phoenix Metro Area, which also services Coolidge, Casa Grande, Florence, Surprise and Wickenburg.
• Tucson, which also services Sierra Vista, Green Valley, Benson, Tombstone, Willcox, Douglas, Ft Huachuca, Huachuca City, St David and Patagonia.

[edit] Arkansas

• Bentonville Also Services: Bella Vista, Bentonville, Cave Springs, Centerton, Gravette, Highlands, Hiwasse
• Berryville Also Services: Beaver City, Berryville, Eureka Springs, Green Forest, Holiday Island
• Fayetteville Also Services: Elkins, Farmington, Fayetteville, Goshen, Greenland, Lincoln, Prairie Grove, West Fork, Winslow
• Fort Smith Also Services: Alma, Arkoma OK, Barling, Bonanza, Cameron OK, Cedarville, Central City, Chester, Dora, Dyer, Excelsior, Fort Smith, Greenwood, Hackett, Highway 71, Huntington, Jenny Lind, Kibler, Lake Alma, Midland, Mansfield, Lavaca, Mountainburg, Mulberry, Muldrow OK, Pocola OK, Rock Island, Roland OK, Rudy, Rye Hill, Sugarloaf area, White Bluff
• Harrison Also Services: Bellefonte, Bergman, Dogpatch, Harrison, Valley Springs, Rogers
• Siloam Springs Also Services: Colcord, Decatur, Gentry, Siloam Springs, Watts, West Siloam Springs
• Springdale Also Services: Bethel Heights, Goshen, Elm Springs, Johnson, Lowell, Sonora, Springdale, Tontitown
• Van Buren Also Services: Van Buren, See also Fort Smith

[edit] California

• Orange County
• Palos Verdes
• San Diego (Coverage area includes downtown, south bay, east county and northern communities such as Oceanside, Escondido, and Poway; the central portion of San Diego is covered by Time Warner Cable)
• Santa Barbara

[edit] Florida

• Central Florida (Gainesville and Ocala)
• Gulf Coast (Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Shalimar, Mary Esther, Crestview, Destin, Niceville, Freeport, Miramar Beach, Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, and parts of Cantonment and Santa Rosa Beach)

[edit] Georgia

• Middle Georgia (Macon, Warner Robins and surrounding areas)

[edit] Idaho

• Sun Valley and surrounding areas

[edit] Kansas

• Wichita Area and Central Kansas: Andover, Augusta, Arkansas City, Derby, Halstead, Maize, Rose Hill, Haysville, Salina, El Dorado, Bel Aire, Wichita, Valley Center, Winfield, Lindsborg, Hutchinson, Newton, Sedgwick, Sterling
• Southeast Kansas: So. Coffeyville, Coffeyville, Iola
• Southwest Kansas:Great Bend, Lyons, Pittsburg, Kingman, Pratt, Garden City, Ford County
• Northeast Kansas: Manhattan, Topeka
• Additional Kansas Communities: Crawford Co., Riley, Arma, Dearing, Auburn, Dodge City, Hesston, McPherson, Saline Co., Hoisington, Milford, Erie, Humboldt, Mulvane, Benton, Finney County, Berryton, Nickerson, Tecumseh, Burrton, Franklin, Jardine, Ogden, Caney, Frontenac, Jefferson, Park City, Towanda, Cheney, Junction City, Tyro, Cherokee Co., Garden Plain, Kechi, Pottwawatomie, Cherryvale, Gas, Weir, Chicopee, Geary, Kinsley, Goddard, Larned, Cunningham, Grandview Plza, Yates Center

[edit] Louisiana

• New Orleans
• Baton Rouge
• Lafayette

[edit] Nebraska

• Omaha and surrounding areas

[edit] Nevada

• Las Vegas

[edit] New England

• Rhode Island, parts of Connecticut and Holland, Massachusetts

[edit] Ohio

• Cleveland (Broadview Heights, Brooklyn Heights, Fairview Park, Lakewood, Olmsted Falls, Olmsted Township, Parma, Parma Heights, Rocky River and Seven Hills)

[edit] Oklahoma

• Oklahoma City
• Tulsa including Claremore, Owasso, Catoosa, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Broken Arrow, Coweta, Bixby, Glenpool & Kiefer

[edit] Virginia

• Fairfax
• Fredericksburg
• Hampton Roads
• Roanoke

[edit] External links

• Cox Communications' Official Website
• Digital Straight Talk
• Cox Communications help forums (registration required - free)

[edit] References

• [1]