Cox Communications Poised to Launch Wireless Service

A recent article released in the New York Times reveals that the cable network Cox Communications plans to expand its networking capabilities to provide its own cellular services to customers. Cox Communications is currently the only company to make this move. The article states that this company will collaborate with Sprint to reach wireless customers that are not available in Cox Communications network range, which currently reaches 6 million customers in select cities across the United States. The first attempt that cable companies made to expand to create their own cellular networks was in the 1990’s. However, Cox Communications decided to focus on improving their connections with optical fiber and aborted their original plan to form its own cellular network until now. To read the full article, you can go to
As many companies failed to create cellular networks in the 1990’s, it is clearly a more plausible endeavor than ever before. An investment like this for a company that is not that well known may seem ambitions and risky, due to the amount of money necessary to put into the creation of a wireless network. However, the amount of fiber networking that Cox invested in will be a strong asset to this project because the fiber groundwork gives them the strongest base to work with, and the ability to hold off any competitors that will emerge; this is the company’s most valuable advantage at this point. The fiber connections are the basis of the network connection, and without a solid basis, other companies may not do as well.
If done correctly, this could be a major step for cable networks looking to gain the competitive advantage. Cox Communications, if successful, will benefit greatly from being the first company to achieve this dual networking. While this is something that has never been done before, Cox Communications is very intelligent to collaborate with Sprint. Sprint will give Cox a reputable image. In addition, current Sprint customers could turn to Cox for their cable needs, further expanding their customer base.
My only hesitation about this expansion, however, is the status of previously used cable networks. Cox Communications must create an extremely enticing and worthwhile contract for customers that would lead them to abandon their previous cell phone or cable companies. There must be some benefit for having dual wireless and cable connection, whether based on price, or guaranteed network service in a number of locations. Many homeowners have already established their wireless needs. Cox is not a nation-wide, well-known company; therefore, may have some trouble gaining customer support.
First-mover advantage is vital to the success of the company; however, once larger, more popular cable companies, like Cablevision begin to delve into this market, they may have a strong advantage because they already have such a vast customer base. I think that once Cox encounters some success in this area, the other cable companies will be more willing to follow in order to remain competitive.