A major Internet service provider is expanding into the competitive mobile market.
Key details
Cox Communications announced in a press release today that it is launching its own wireless cell phone service. The new service, Cox Mobile, was announced only to be available in three of their markets. New markets will be opened in the next year.
It is offering two different plans—including a $45-per-month unlimited data plan and a $15-per-month plan with 1GB of renewable data. They will initially only be available in Las Vegas, Omaha, and Hampton Hills, Virginia.
Cox Communications is a major broadband home-Internet-service provider serving short of 7 million homes and businesses in 18 states. It is a division of Cox Enterprises, an Atlanta-based company that owns the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dayton Daily News, and is in the process of purchasing Axios.
The company will not be building additional cell towers but will instead rely on existing infrastructure, paying various providers to use their towers. The service will provide 4G LTE and 5G network access.
Why it’s important
The launch comes at an aggressive moment for cable and phone companies. Cox Mobile is aiming to directly compete with major providers such as AT&T and T-Mobile, who themselves are fiercely competing for customers.
“Cable companies are promoting new and cheaper mobile phone plans, while wireless carriers are using excess capacity on next-generation networks to gain customers that were previously using traditional broadband internet,” says The Wall Street Journal.
Major cable companies are using mobile services to cling to customers who are moving away from traditional television packages.
“Comcast Corp. said last month that it lost residential customers in the most recent quarter for the first time ever. Charter Communications Inc. reported its first decline in almost a decade,” says The Wall Street Journal.
“Wireless carriers are using the excess capacity on next-generation networks to win over customers who have been using traditional broadband-internet providers, while those same cable companies are promoting new and cheaper cellphone plans.”
Cox Mobile’s competitive pricing strategy may give it an edge as it begins to slowly expand into more markets but it will be fighting against major name brands with expansive infrastructure.
Notable quote
“We’ve done extensive research to understand what our customers want and expect from their mobile provider. Cox Mobile gives our customers what they asked for—a simple, flexible, and reliable mobile experience wherever they go,” says Cox Communications president Mark Greatrex.
