10/27/2008, 11:15am, EDT
Monday, October 27thCox plans cellular service for 2009
Cox Communications on Monday said it would launch its own cellular service in 2009 that would make it one of the first new national providers in the US in years. The format of the expansion hasn't been made public but will see Cox offer both voice and data service on its network that includes tight integration between phones and the company's cable service.
Subscribers should have remote control over their DVRs and will also have the option of watching TV shows, though the breadth of programming and the quality of the broadcasts are unknown; Sprint uses a low-quality but purely Internet-based streaming feature on its 3G network, while AT&T and Verizon use high-quality digital TV tuning that sits apart from the data network.
Service is estimated to start in the second half of next year with a CDMA phone network that will also support roaming on Sprint's service. However, the company plans to start testing 4G-level Long Term Evolution access and ultimately hopes to deploy it on its purchased 700MHz licenses, which will make its network technically compatible with AT&T and Verizon when the two adopt LTE in 2010.
The effort will restore a level of heightened competition to the US mobile space, which is seeing a reduced number of players following Verizon's acquisitions of Alltel and Rural Cellular.
Filed under: industry, mobile phones
Other story tags: AT&T, Verizon, sprint, 700MHz, Cox
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why?
it'll go nowhere and will be outa business or purchased within the first couple years..
Re: ooshnoo's ignorance
You think something done by Cox will go nowhere, be out of business or bought out by another company in a short period of time? Are you joking? Cox Communications is part of Cox Enterprises, one of the wealthiest privately held companies in North America. They are currently the 7th largest land-line phone provider in the country. They consistently win top awards for both their Internet/data services and phone service from companies like JD Power & Associates, Multichannel News, Business Wire & PC Magazine just to name a few. They are 110 year old company with nearly zero debt until they bought spectrum for this wireless product. I think they are going to shake up the wireless industry. Just a factoid, in markets where they have been selling dial tone the longest, they now own more of those markets that the incumbent Bell company and have done this in less than 10 years. Watch out AT&T, Verizon & T-Mobile, Cox has you in their sights now on the wireless front!
cox
I switched from Verizon Fios to Cox cable because cox was more reliable, cheaper, and considerably faster.