New ruling reopens door for Cox's mobile launch

A new Delaware Supreme Court ruling could pave the way for cable giant Cox Communications to enter the wireless industry.

However, a Cox representative said that the company hasn't announced any specific wireless plans.

Nonetheless, the new ruling is likely being cheered by top executives at Cox, the nation's fourth-largest cable provider. "We ... vacate the injunction against Cox, and remand the case so that the Court of Chancery can determine whether Cox and T-Mobile have discharged their obligations to negotiate in good faith," the ruling stated.

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

At issue is not Cox's desire to enter the wireless market but instead the wireless network partner it would do so with. According to detailed court filings, Cox inked an MVNO agreement with Verizon in January 2021 and planned to launch commercial mobile services through the operator by October of last year. But that plan was scuttled by T-Mobile, which argued that a prior agreement between Cox and Sprint (acquired by T-Mobile in 2020) essentially required Cox to use T-Mobile's network for its mobile service.

According to court filings, the monetary dispute between the parties was significant. Cox argued that it would save $90 million by selecting Verizon as its MVNO partner. T-Mobile argued that the difference was only around $24 million.

T-Mobile sued Cox and subsequently successfully obtained an injunction against Cox's mobile launch with Verizon. The two companies have been bickering in courtrooms since.

A T-Mobile representative did not immediately respond to questions from Light Reading about what T-Mobile's next steps might be.

If Cox were to launch mobile services, it would not be the only cable company to do so. Both Comcast and Charter currently offer mobile services through Verizon. Altice does so through T-Mobile, and recently hinted it could soon ink renewed MVNO terms with T-Mobile.

Meanwhile, cable company WideOpenWest (WOW) recently said that it would team with Reach Mobile to offer mobile services via T-Mobile's network. And Mediacom Communications said that it is "actively evaluating" a plan to launch its own mobile services, though it hasn't announced an MVNO partner.

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— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano