Cox Communications

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (December 2007)

Cox Communications, Inc.

Type	Private
Founded	1962
Headquarters	1400 Lake Hearn Drive near 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(s)	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] Cox is headquartered at 1400 Lake Hearn Drive in Atlanta's unincorporated Sandy Springs area of DeKalb County, Georgia, U.S., east of Atlanta.^[4] One of its prominent marketing trademarks is a fictional animated "spokesman" character named Digital Max, used from 1990 through 2009.

History

Corporate logo 1998 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 renamed to Cox Communications), 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.^[5]
• 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.^[6] Also in 2008, Cox was named #8 on the Top 10 Companies for African Americans.^[7]

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

Privatization

In 2004, Cox Enterprises announced its intention to purchase those shares of Cox Communications which it did not already own. A $6.6 Billion tender offer was completed in December of that year, and Cox Communications has been a wholly owned subsidiary ever since.^[8] This was the second time Cox was taken private by Cox Enterprises.

Residential Services

Video

Cox distributes standard definition and high definition cable television programming, including Digital Cable.^[9] Cox has no plans to discontinue an analog level of service as part of the digital transition. ^[10] 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.

Digital Video Recorder

Cox offers Digital Video Recorder service, provided using Motorola or Scientific Atlanta equipment depending on the local market. ^[11]

OnDemand

Cox offers video on demand service in the majority of its markets under the name On Demand. On Demand offerings are fairly standardized, portal based, carry VODnets like The Ski Channel, and in some markets include High Definition. Cox offers replays of ABC and NBC programming in some markets while Comcast includes offerings BBC America and CBS. ^[12]

High Speed Internet

Cox offers four levels of High Speed Internet in all of its markets, Economy, Value, Preferred and Premier. Cox initially launched High Speed Internet in 1996 in its Orange County system.^[13] Cox licensed the PowerBoost technology in 2007 and offers it on the Preferred and Premier level of service. ^[14] Top service download speeds are between 12 and 15 Mbit/s. Monthly bandwidth caps are in place for all four levels of service, with 60 gb/month download being the largest.^[15] Cox High Speed Internet won the PC Magazine Readers' Choice Award for High Speed Internet in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. ^[16]

Digital Telephone

Cox offers telephone service in the majority of its services areas. Various technologies, including circuit switched and VoIP systems are used depending on service areas. ^[17] Cox has won multiple J.D. Power and Associates awards for its telephone service. ^[18]

Current systems

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.

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,Van Buren, 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

California

• Orange County, includes local cablecast channel, Cox3 ^[19]
• 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

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)

Georgia

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

Idaho

• Sun Valley and surrounding areas

Iowa

• Council Bluffs including Underwood, Crescent, and Carter Lake; operated as part of the Omaha system.

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: Coffeyville, Iola, Pittsburg
• Southwest Kansas: Great Bend, Lyons, 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

Louisiana

• New Orleans
• Baton Rouge
• Lafayette

Nebraska

• Omaha - serving Omaha, Elkhorn, Bennington, Waterloo, Valley, Gretna, Bellevue, Papillion, and LaVista.

Nevada

• Las Vegas

New England

• Rhode Island, parts of Connecticut and Holland, Massachusetts

Ohio

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

Oklahoma

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

Virginia

• Fairfax
• Fredericksburg
• Hampton Roads
• Roanoke

References

External links

• Cox Communications' Official Website
• Cox HSI & CATV support forum VIA dslreports.com (Registration required)