Cox plans cellular service for 2009

Cox Communications on Monday said it would launch its own cellular service in 2009 that would make it one of the first new national providers in the US in years. The format of the expansion hasn't been made public but will see Cox offer both voice and data service on its network that includes tight integration between phones and the company's cable service.

Subscribers should have remote control over their DVRs and will also have the option of watching TV shows, though the breadth of programming and the quality of the broadcasts are unknown; Sprint uses a low-quality but purely Internet-based streaming feature on its 3G network, while AT&T and Verizon use high-quality digital TV tuning that sits apart from the data network.

Service is estimated to start in the second half of next year with a CDMA phone network that will also support roaming on Sprint's service. However, the company plans to start testing 4G-level Long Term Evolution access and ultimately hopes to deploy it on its purchased 700MHz licenses, which will make its network technically compatible with AT&T and Verizon when the two adopt LTE in 2010.

The effort will restore a level of heightened competition to the US mobile space, which is seeing a reduced number of players following Verizon's acquisitions of Alltel and Rural Cellular.

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