A leader in broadbandAtlanta-based Cox Communications is one of the largest broadband communications companies in the U.S., with more than six million customers in over 20 states. It is the nation's fifth-largest cable TV company, but it also provides digital video and telephone service, local and long-distance phone service, and high-speed Internet access.
Part of a media family
Cox Communications is majority-owned by Cox Enterprises, which has interests in newspapers, television and radio stations, Internet sites and automobile auctions. The company traces its roots back to 1898 when James M. Cox bought the Dayton Evening News. (Cox later served as Ohio's governor for three terms and ran as the Democratic party's presidential candidate in 1920.) The company first entered the cable TV business in 1962. After the 1996 Telecommunications Reform Act, it expanded into advanced video, voice and data services.
Growth areas
High-speed Internet and telephone services are seen as the next big growth areas for cable companies. Cox has a good lead in both. In April 2002 the number of the company's high-speed Internet subscribers surpassed the 1,000,000 mark. And the number of its high-speed phone customers reached the half-million mark. Cox is one of only two companies (AT&T Broadband is the other) that offers telephone service over cable lines.
