WOW!

WOW!
Type Private
Industry Telecommunications
Founded 1996
Headquarters Englewood, Colorado, USA
Key people Colleen Abdoulah, Chief Executive Officer and Chairwoman of the Board
Products Cable TV, Broadband Internet, Phone
Revenue Unknown
Net income Unknown
Employees Unknown
Website www.wowway.com

WOW! (formerly WideOpenWest), is the 15th largest cable provider in the United States.[1] It has been given accolades by Consumer Reports as the top Television and internet provider in its 2009 telecom survey.

Contents

History

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 gave way for more competition to enter the cable TV market. Encouraged by this law a number of investors, led by local telephone companies, established competitive broadcast cable services in markets across the country. These entities became known in the industry as 'cable overbuilders,' meaning they would build new cable infrastructure into areas where there were existing cable systems.[2]

WOW! was founded in November 1999 in Denver, Colorado. After completing a network build in April 2001, WOW! initially served about 200 people in the Denver area. In November 2001, Americast, an overbuild system in the Midwest built and operated by Ameritech New Media, Inc., was purchased by WOW! for an undisclosed amount per subscriber, estimated to have been at a cost of $1,000 per sub.[3] This purchase opened WOW! to over 310,000 new customers in areas surrounding the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Cleveland, and Columbus.[4]

WOW! currently provides service in the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Chicago, Columbus, Cleveland, and Evansville, IN. WOW! no longer serves the Denver market.

WOW! is privately owned with Avista Capital Partners having a majority stake.[5]

Services

WOW! currently offers three services; Internet, Digital Cable Television, and Phone services.

High Speed Internet Service

WOW! currently offers Four High Speed Internet speeds. (Updated as of October 18, 2011)

(30/3 and 50/5 require a Docsis 3.0 modem)

WOW! also offers a home networking Wi-Fi service.

Cable Television Service

In most WOW! markets their Cable Television service offers about 336 channels. WOW! currently offers a limited amount of analog channels (16 channels), with all of the rest of their stations broadcast in either standard digital (SD) or high definition (HD or Hi-Def). WOW!'s options for set top boxes (a.k.a. STB or cable box) are in order:

WOW! also offers cable cards for TVs that are cable card ready and for TiVo services.

Phone Service

WOW! currently offers three different phone bundles. Advanced Phone, Essential Phone, and Standard Phone.

Advanced Phone: Unlimited local, local toll and nationwide calling to anyone in the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Essential Phone:

WOW! Standard Phone:

100 minutes of outbound local, local toll and domestic long distance calling (including Canada)

Awards

WOW! has been recognized locally and within its industry for outstanding customer satisfaction, positive employment practices leading to satisfied employees and supporting the advancement of women.

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

See also

References

  1. ^ "Top 25 Multichannel Video Providers - As of December 2009". National Cable & Telecommunications Association. http://www.ncta.com/Stats/TopMSOs.aspx. 
  2. ^ "CableLabs Glossary". CableLabs. http://www.cablelabs.com/news/glossary/#O. 
  3. ^ "WOW Takes Over ex Americast Systems". Multichannel News. http://www.multichannel.com/article/78082-WOW_Takes_Over_ex_Americast_Systems.php. 
  4. ^ "SBC Sells For a Song". Multichannel News. http://www.multichannel.com/article/126578-SBC_Sells_For_a_Song.php. 
  5. ^ "Portfolio". Avista Capital Partners. http://www.avistacappartners.com/portfolio. 
  6. ^ "Best places to work in". http://www.bestplacestoworkin.com/. 
  7. ^ "J.D. Power". http://www.jdpower.com/csc/. Retrieved 13 April 2011. 
  8. ^ "2010 Internet Service Provider Residential Customer Satisfaction Study". J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/high-speed-internet-service-provider-ratings/north-central/l/. 
  9. ^ "2010 Residential Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study". J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/telephone-service-provider-ratings/north-central/. 
  10. ^ "Best Regional Cable Broadband ISP". ConsumerSearch.org. http://www.consumersearch.com/isp/wow-cable. 
  11. ^ "Illinois Best Places to Work". 101 Best Places to Work. http://www.101bestandbrightest.com/pages/2010winner.cfm. 
  12. ^ "Independent Customer Service Award". CableFax Magazine, July 2010. http://www.cablefax.com/cfp/cablefaxmag/independent_operators/42329.html. 
  13. ^ "2009 Internet Service Provider Residential Customer Satisfaction Study". J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/high-speed-internet-service-provider-ratings/north-central. 
  14. ^ "2009 Residential Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study". J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/telephone-service-provider-ratings/north-central. 
  15. ^ "2009 Residential Television Service Satisfaction Study". J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/television-service-ratings/north-central. 
  16. ^ "Easter Seals Telethon". Easter Seals Southwest Indiana. http://in-sw.easterseals.com/site/PageServer?pagename=INSW_Easter_Seals_Telethon. 
  17. ^ "2009 Detroit Free Press Top Workplaces". Detroit Free Press. http://www.freep.com/article/20091018/BUSINESS06/910180421/0/BUSINESS06/Medium-category-winners-%28150-499-employees%29. 
  18. ^ "2008 PAR Initiative". Women in Cable Telecommunications. http://www.wict.org/research/par/Pages/2008PARInitiative.aspx. 
  19. ^ "Independent Operator of the Year: WOW!". Cable Fax Magazine. http://www.cablefax.com/cfp/cablefaxmag/independent_operators/30856.html. 
  20. ^ "J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Customers Respond Positively as Cable and Voice Providers Leverage Web Sites to More Effectively Address Customer Service Issues". J.D. Power and Associates. http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2008180. 
  21. ^ "2008 Internet Service Provider (ISP) Residential Customer Satisfaction Study". J.D. Power and Associates. http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/articles/2008-Internet-Service-Provider-(ISP)-Residential-Customer-Satisfaction-Study. 
  22. ^ "2008 Winners". 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For. http://www.101bestandbrightest.com/pages/md08winners.cfm. 
  23. ^ "J.D. Power and Associates Reports: DIRECTV and WOW! Lead the Regional Cable and Satellite Customer Satisfaction Rankings". J.D. Power and Associates. http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2007137. 
  24. ^ "J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Bundling Video with Voice and Data Services Gives Cable Companies A Competitive Edge over Telephone Providers". J.D. Power and Associates. http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2007108. 
  25. ^ "Crain's Cool Places to Work 2007". Crain Communications Inc.. http://crainsdetroit.com/section/coolplaces. 
  26. ^ "2007 Winners". 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For. http://www.101bestandbrightest.com/pages/ch07winners.cfm. 
  27. ^ "J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Although Cable Continues to Lose Market Share to Satellite Providers, Cable Subscribers Are Switching to Digital Service at a Rapid Pace". J.D. Power & Associates. http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2006135. 
  28. ^ "J.D. Power and Associates Reports: High-Speed Internet Overtakes Dial-Up in Market Share as Bundling Makes Services More Affordable". J.D. Power and Associates. http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2006201. 
  29. ^ "Readers' Choice: ISPs Survey". PC Magazine. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2017592,00.asp. 
  30. ^ "J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Satellite TV Penetration Increases Significantly, Even as Cable Narrows the Customer Satisfaction Gap". J.D. Power and Associates. http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/PressRelease.aspx?ID=2005117. 

External links