Cox, Comcast Sharpen Business Customer Focus

Expanding their focus beyond residential broadband packages, a growing number of cable operators, including Cox Communications and Comcast Corp., is pitching business services to small and midsize companies looking for alternatives to telco-provided offerings.

Tuesday alone, Cox’s Business Services unit announced the expansion of its footprint to serve firms in Los Angeles, while Comcast Corp. said it has built a customer/technical support center in Centennial, Colo., to meet the needs of its growing business base.

The cable operators’ first business services focus is on a mix of private line services, basic VPNs and high-speed Internet access, with some pledging to extend their digital phone service to small and midsize companies later this year.

Cable companies are accelerating their efforts to address the lucrative business services market in an effort to leverage their often advanced networks to create new revenue streams. Early evidence of this trend was Cox and industry group CableLabs joining the telco-focused Metro Ethernet Forum.

Cox Business Services said it already delivers commercial broadband and telecom services to 12,600 businesses in south and central Orange County, Calif. The cableco announced it has expanded its service area to downtown Los Angeles by offering high-capacity data transport and Internet services.

Bandwidth-hungry businesses in Orange County and in downtown Los Angeles can easily and securely connect their offices and information systems entirely on the Cox network with a dedicated SONET, Ethernet connection or IP transport service.

"Cox offers businesses a cost-efficient and convenient alternative to traditional telecommunications services, with faster installation, more competitive pricing and a single point of contact," said Dave Montierth, vice president of Cox Business Services in Orange County, in prepared comments.

Cox maintains it can install services for a customer in as little as a week to 30 days in comparison to traditional telecom companies, which they said require 45 days to six months to deliver similar services. Cox said it’s now established in Los Angeles' most secure and connected collocation centers, which makes it cost-effective for businesses to use Cox's network to extend themselves into other markets in the United States or internationally.

Cox Business Services offers companies its Cox Transparent LAN service that interconnects two or more locations together so they appear as one and to transfer files and interoperate between offices seamlessly.

Cox Optical Internet is the reliable and scalable high speed Internet service for complex data demands of growing businesses. The facilities-based provider also offers digital telephony services.

Comcast on Tuesday unveiled a new, 200-worker business services support center designed to handle commercial customers regardless of their location.

The center will provide nationwide support for business customers who use Comcast Workplace High-Speed Internet and Workplace TV services, as well as Workplace Digital Voice.

"Comcast's top priority is our customers, and the new support center will enable us to serve business customers across the country from Colorado," said Karl Ossentjuk, Colorado Region vice president of Business Services.

Comcast offers high-speed Internet and Web-hosting, and says it will begin offering digital voice service for business customers this year.

Comcast Corp. www.comcast.com  

Cox Business Services www.coxbusiness.com

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