What Is Cox?
Cox, or Cox Communications, is a major US broadband, cable television, and telecommunications provider offering internet, video, phone, and home automation services to roughly 6.5 million customers nationwide.[2][4] It operates fiber-powered networks that connect about seven million homes and businesses across at least 18 states, making it the largest private broadband company in America.[1][4]
As the largest division of Cox Enterprises, a family-owned company founded in 1898, Cox Communications combines a legacy in media with modern network and cloud technology.[1][4] Its headquarters in the Atlanta metropolitan area oversees operations that span residential connectivity, business services, and managed IT solutions.[2][1]
Services and Business Focus
For residential customers, Cox delivers high-speed cable and fiber internet, digital cable TV via its Contour platform, mobile phone services, and landline telephony over its hybrid fiber-coax networks.[2][1] These offerings position Cox as a direct competitor to other national cable and telecom providers in the US, especially in bundled internet and TV packages.
Cox Business provides voice, data, video, Ethernet, and cloud-based services to more than 260,000 small and regional businesses, educational institutions, healthcare providers, and government organizations.[2] Through acquisitions such as RapidScale and Logicworks, Cox has expanded into managed and hybrid cloud services, helping enterprises migrate applications, secure workloads, and manage complex IT environments.[2][1]
The Charter–Cox Merger and Its Significance
On May 16, 2025, Cox announced an agreement to merge with Charter Communications in a transaction valued at about $34.5 billion, forming the largest US cable and broadband operator.[2][3] The combined company will keep the Cox Communications corporate name but adopt Charter’s Spectrum brand for consumer offerings, greatly expanding its national reach.[2]
Analysts estimate the merged entity will serve more than 36 million broadband and nearly 15 million pay TV customers across 46 states, passing close to 70 million homes and businesses.[3] Charter brings heavy investment in multi-gig speeds, DOCSIS 4.0, and mobile, while Cox contributes strong B2B operations, regional fiber networks such as Segra, and managed cloud assets like RapidScale, potentially reshaping competition, pricing, and service innovation in US broadband and pay TV markets.[3][2]
Future Growth and Investments
Looking ahead, Cox and its parent company are investing in new verticals such as cleantech, healthcare, digital media, esports, and the public sector to diversify beyond traditional cable and telecom revenue.[5] These moves build on Cox’s media heritage and reflect a long-term strategy to participate in high-growth, primarily digital industries.[5]
At the same time, Cox continues to upgrade its broadband infrastructure and expand managed IT and cloud offerings to meet rising bandwidth and security needs for both homes and enterprises.[1][2] Credit rating agencies have noted merger-related leverage and integration risks, placing Cox on negative or evolving watch, but the company and its partners view the Charter–Cox combination as a way to secure scale, investment capacity, and competitive strength in a maturing US connectivity market.[8][3]