New kid on the (wireless) block
The impending entrance into the Oklahoma City wireless market by Verizon Wireless has been trumped by Cox Communications.
The long-time cable television, Internet and wireline phone provider in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa markets said Monday that it will launch its own branded wireless telephone service next year, even going to far as to build its own 3G network.
I spoke to Cox spokeswoman Jill Ullman in Atlanta, and she was mum on what Cox will call the service or any other details such as a launch date or what it will cost subscribers. That will come later, she said.
Cox withdrew in April from a joint venture with three other cable providers and Sprint that lasted only a year. That was the Pivot service that it launched in Spring 2007 to much fanfare.
“The dynamics of a joint venture had some constraints, and we believe that by going at this on our own we won’t have any of those experiences,” Ullman said. “We know that we learned a lot through our relationship with Pivot and the biggest learning from that relationship is that our customers want us to control the entire customer experience.”
I asked telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan in Atlanta for his views on the new Cox wireless service, and here’s what he told me:
“If done right I think they can compete and be successful. They have to market correctly. They have to have products that are part of a bundle and stand alone wireless, as well. Many of the questions about Cox’s potential success come from the mis-steps from the last attempt by the cable television industry to enter wireless over the last couple years. If the lessons were learned, Cox could be successful. I think a section of the marketplace would like that to happen.”
Ah, bundles. No one is bigger on bundles than Cox, which claims to have invented the concept.
“Sixty-four percent of our customers nationwide already take more than one service from us,” Ullman said. “We see that as a great opportunity. Our initial success will be in this base of satisfied customers. With more than 64 percent of our customers already subscribing to the Cox bundle, that is going present a great opportunity for wireless.”
Business Writer
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