Cox boots up mobile pilot in three US markets

Cox Communications is officially back in the mobile business.

Cox, which shut down an earlier mobile effort back in 2011, announced the pilot launch of Cox Mobile in three markets: Hampton Roads, Virginia; Omaha, Nebraska; and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cox Mobile is a service backed by an MVNO deal believed to be with Verizon and about 4 million of its own Wi-Fi hotspots.

Update: Cox has not formally announced its MVNO partner, and has not discussed it publicly due to its obligations with that provider.

But, as currently crafted, the Cox Mobile service itself is largely duplicating the kind of structure set up at Comcast and Charter Communications, which do have formally announced MVNO pacts with Verizon.

Figure 1: (Source: Kristoffer Tripplaar/Alamy Stock Photo)

Among the similarities, Cox is pitching the new mobile service to its home broadband customers and selling by-the-Gig and unlimited data options. Cox said its Pay As You Gig option starts at $15 per gigabyte, and its Gig Unlimited tier sells for $45 per month per line. According to the small print, Cox Mobile notes that speed restrictions on its Pay As You Gig option applies after 5 gigabytes of usage per line. Speed reductions for Gig Unlimited start after 20 gigabytes of usage per month, per line, the company confirmed. The Cox Mobile service is not saddled with annual contracts or early termination fees.

Cox said it plans to launch Cox Mobile in its remaining markets on a "rolling basis throughout the rest of the year." Cox, which has about 6 million residential broadband customers, also serves parts of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Rhode Island.

Cox confirmed its initial mobile market launch plan last month. Though Cox announced an MVNO agreement with Verizon in January 2021, its plans to go forward with that were slowed a bit by an entanglement with T-Mobile. T-Mobile argued at the time that a prior agreement between Cox and Sprint (T-Mobile merged with Sprint in 2020) required Cox to use T-Mobile's network for mobile services. A court ruling later vacated the injunction against Cox.

Cable's growing mobile club

With the pilot debut and coming wider launch, Cox has joined a growing number of cable operators to get into the mobile game with a service that's largely being used to prop up their respective home broadband businesses.

In addition to Comcast and Charter, Altice USA offers mobile services through a partnership with T-Mobile. WideOpenWest recently launched a mobile service in partnership with Reach Mobile.

Mediacom Communications is exploring a mobile option. Meanwhile, the National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC), an organization that represents hundreds of small and midsize US operators, is in the process of striking a deal that will enable its members to get into the mobile game before the end of 2022.

It's a strategy that's been working well for the US cable industry, which is seeking a new growth driver amid flagging broadband subscriber growth. US cable operators took nearly half (49.2%) of mobile industry net adds in the second quarter of 2022 , according to MoffettNathanson.

Comcast, Charter and Altice USA combined to add 694,000 mobile lines in the second quarter, ending the period with 9.12 million. WOW has yet to report subscriber figures for its new mobile service.

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading