Cox Communications - History

History

Cox Enterprises expanded into the cable television industry in 1962 by purchasing a number of cable systems in Lewistown, Lock Haven and Tyrone (all in Pennsylvania), followed by systems in California, Oregon and Washington. The subsidiary company, Cox Broadcasting Corporation (later renamed to Cox Communications), was not officially formed until 1964, when it was established as a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It was taken private by Cox Enterprises in 1985.

• In 1993 Cox began offering telecommunications services to businesses (the first multiple system cable operator to do so). This eventually grew into Cox Business, which now represents $1 billion in annual revenue.
• In 1997 Cox became the first multiple system cable operator to offer phone services to customers following the 1996 Telecom Act.
• In 1999 Cox acquired the cable television assets of Media General in Fairfax County and Fredericksburg, Virginia.
• In 2000 Cox Communications acquired Multimedia Cablevision with assets in Kansas, Oklahoma and North Carolina.
• In 2004, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors found Cox Communications guilty of violating an agreement with the county which stated that all homes served by Cox within Fairfax County would be digital ready with the new fiber optic network by June 2003. When this term expired with less than 30% of the County having been completed, the Board of Supervisors elected to fine Cox $100 per day from the originally agreed completion date, until such time as the work was completed; which was in January 2006. The Board also forbade Cox from raising rates to recover the cost of the fine for a period of 10 years from the actual completion date. The total fine was approximately $93,000.
• On November 1, 2005, Cox announced the sale of all of its Texas, Missouri, Mississippi and North Carolina properties, as well as some systems in Arkansas, California, Louisiana and Oklahoma to Cebridge Communications. The sale closed in 2006 and those systems were transitioned by their new owner from Cox branding to Suddenlink Communications.
• On May 14, 2007, Cox announced that they had sold their investment in Discovery Communications for the Travel Channel, related assets, and $1.3 billion.
• On 2007, Diversity Inc. magazine named Cox Communications #25 in its Top 50 Companies for Diversity. Cox climbed to the sixth position on Diversity Inc's 2008 list. Also in 2008, Cox was named #8 on the Top 10 Companies for African Americans.
• On November 19, 2010, Cox began offering 'Unbelievably Fair' Wireless services in Orange County CA, Omaha NE, Hampton Roads VA.
• In September 2011, Cox Home Security was added to their suite of products listed on their website. This new service utilizes advanced technologies similar to the Home Security products offered by other MSO's such as Comcast.