Cox Pulls Plug on Mobile

Cox Pulls Plug on Mobile

Cox Communications is hanging up its cellphone service. The short lived program got axed by Cox nationally - the program was launched in 2010. How many Rhode Island consumers are affected is not known.

The cable company stopped selling services as of Wednesday, November 16. The Cox system uses Sprint Nextel's 3G wireless network as its infrastructure. Customers in Rhode Island as well as in Virginia, Nebraska, Southern California, and Oklahoma are affected. As recently as September of this year Cox was rolling out new markets - most recently San Diego.

"No Termination Fees"

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Cox is offering current customers a $150 credit for every line that is being disconnected. They are also waiving early termination fees.

"Cox's decision to no longer sell its 3G wireless service was based on the lack of wireless scale necessary to compete in the marketplace, the acceleration of competitive 4G networks as well as the inability to access iconic wireless devices," Cox said in a statement.

The phone service cut back is a blow to Cox who faces stiff competition in its core business - cable service - as a result of the launch of Fios by Verizon in the Rhode Island market.