Cox Communications' Innovation and Service Excellence to Small and Medium Businesses Generates $1 Billion in Annual Sales

ATLANTA, Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Communications announced today that Cox Business, the company division that provides voice, data and video services for business customers, will surpass $1 billion in annual revenue by the end of this week. Cox pioneered cable business services when it entered the market in 1993, and the company continues to lead the industry in success with customers today.  

"Cox recognized an opportunity to meet the needs of business customers that were underserved by the nation's incumbent telephone companies, and built a strong team to pursue that goal," said Pat Esser, president of Cox Communications. "We have effectively followed our customers from the living room to the office, investing in our network to deliver reliable and highly competitive offerings for small business and larger enterprises such as healthcare, education and government."  

Cox first began offering business services in response to telecom carriers demand for reliable local network connections in Hampton Roads, Va. The company's success in wholesale connectivity was quickly followed by retail broadband Internet and voice offerings for small businesses. Cox was the first large cable operator to bring competition to telephone companies after the 1996 Telecom Act opened the door for consumer choice. In 2000, Cox established Cox Business as a formal business unit with approximately $100 million in revenue that year.

"One billion dollars is an extraordinary milestone for Cox. Their success speaks to the strength of their network and to their relentless dedication to servicing their customers. They were the first of the cable operators to make commercial services a real priority, and along the way they've written the playbook for the whole cable industry," said Craig Moffett, senior analyst, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Cox Business provides voice, data and video services for more than 260,000 small and regional businesses, including healthcare providers, K-12 and higher education, financial institutions and federal, state and local government organizations. According to Vertical Systems Group, Cox Business is the fourth largest provider of business Ethernet services in the U.S. based on customer ports and was ranked highest among small/midsize business data service providers in J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Major Provider Business Telecommunications Study(SM). Cox is currently the seventh largest voice service provider in the U.S. and supports more than 800,000 business phone lines.  

Cox Business' strategies to continue aggressive business services growth include developing industry-specific voice, data and video solutions, exploring managed services that address the broader IT needs of companies and integrating recently launched Cox Wireless capabilities into future business products. As part of these efforts, Cox Business launched Cox Business Online Backup and Cox Business Security Suite earlier this year in all markets, included with Cox Business Internet speeds of 5, 10, 15, 25, 50 Mbps.

"As we scale to achieve the next billion, Cox Business will broaden its products, pursue strategic partnerships and increase speed to market to respond to the needs of our customers," said Phil Meeks, senior vice president, Cox Business. "Cox Business' unmatched sales and service teams in each of our markets will continue to make us a provider of choice for businesses."

Listen to Phil Meeks discuss the $1 billion milestone on BlogTalkRadio.

For more information about Cox Business, click here or call 1-800-396-1609.

About Cox Communications

Cox Communications is a broadband communications and entertainment company, providing advanced digital video, Internet, telephone and wireless services over its own nationwide IP network. The third-largest U.S. cable TV company, Cox serves more than 6 million residences and businesses. Cox Business is a facilities-based provider of voice, video and data solutions for commercial customers, and Cox Media is a full-service provider of national and local cable spot and new media advertising.

Cox is known for its pioneering efforts in cable telephone and commercial services, industry-leading customer care and its outstanding workplaces. For seven years, Cox has been recognized as the top operator for women by Women in Cable Telecommunications; for five years, Cox has ranked among DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies for Diversity, and the company holds a perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. More information about Cox Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, is available at www.cox.com and www.coxmedia.com.

SOURCE Cox Communications