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Cox Cable Will Offer Digital Phone Service

Posted on: Tuesday, 1 November 2005, 21:00 CST

By Linda S. Morris, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

Nov. 1--Cable provider Cox Communications will begin offering digital telephone service to residential customers beginning today, a company official said Monday.

The company is investing about $3.2 million in capital improvements in upgrading its network to offer the phone service, said Mike Dyer, vice president and general manager for Cox in Middle Georgia.

Cox plans an official announcement at 9 a.m. today at the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce.

Chip Cherry, chamber CEO and president, said Cox has been an involved corporate citizen and it is making a good investment in the community.

"One of our key initiatives is to try to grow local existing businesses because that's where the majority of new jobs come from," Cherry said. "Anytime we have an existing company that's willing to make that kind of investment in the community ... it's very good for our economy."

Cox's move into the telephone services arena is based on competition.

"The bottom line is, cable is not a monopoly," Dyer said. "We've got satellite providers, like Direct TV and Dish, coming after us strong."

Also, local telephone provider BellSouth has a relationship with Direct TV offering satellite TV services which BellSouth bundles with telephone services.

"This is just a way for us to be competitive," Dyer said. "The biggest reason somebody would want (Cox's telephone service) is when it gets bundled with high-speed Internet or video services, you get a significant price discount without any reduction in quality."

The Cox telephone service can be ordered without ordering any other services, he said.

Middle Georgia is the 22nd Cox system in the nation to launch the phone service, Dyer said. Cox Communications has more than 1.4 million telephone customers across the country.

Already, Cox has added 21 workers in preparation for the network, and the company expects to hire 16 more people in 2006, Dyer said. The company has about 215 workers in the midstate, including the new hires.

The digital service Cox will be providing is a service that uses Voice-Over-Internet Protocol -- called VOIP -- technology which transports telephone calls over an Internet-based data network. The difference with Cox's VOIP is that it will be transported over a privately managed Internet-based network, Dyer said.

If someone chooses Cox's phone service, the customer would disconnect from their current telephone provider. Cox would provide a telephone and data modem to the customer. The current phone line would run from the wall into the modem and the customer would get a dial tone on their phone just as they do now.

"You will not notice any difference in our service from your traditional phone provider, except better quality," Dyer said.

Cost of the basic telephone service begins at $14.13 a month, said Mary Huff, Cox community relations manager. But a phone service with "all the bells and whistles," including unlimited nationwide calls, caller ID, three-way calling, voice mail and other services would run $43.95 a month, not including taxes and fees. Other packages are available when bundled with other services, she said.

Customers will be able to keep their current phone and same phone number, Dyer said. The same level of 911 service that is available now will be available.

The phone service will be available to residential customers in areas where Cox currently serves cable customers. It is expected to be available to commercial customers in early 2006, Huff said.

"The bottom line, it's great for the consumer," Dyer said. "It's another offering in the market that drops down the price. It's good for everybody."

WHAT IS DIGITAL PHONE SERVICE?

Customers who sign up for Cox's digital phone service will receive a telephone and data modem from the company. They will no longer use their current telephone provider.

Their existing phone line will run into the modem and the customer would get a dial tone on their phone just as they do now.

The calls will be sent over a privately managed Internet-based network. This method provides better quality, a Cox official said.

Customers will be able to keep their current phone and same phone number.

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To see more of The Macon Telegraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.macon.com

Copyright (c) 2005, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

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Source: The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)

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