Cox Communications Turns on Digital Telephone Service in Tulsa; Upcoming Market Launches Include Baton Rouge, West Texas and Southwest Louisiana

Business Wire, Oct 4, 2004

ATLANTA -- Cox Communications Inc.(NYSE: COX), the nation's leading cable telephone provider, today announced the availability of Cox Digital Telephone in Tulsa, Okla., for local and long-distance telephone service. Tulsa marks the 14th telephone market for Cox and the second market in which Cox has deployed Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. Beginning later this month, Cox will further increase its telephone footprint by launching Cox Digital Telephone in Baton Rouge, La., and West Texas, followed by Southwest Louisiana later this year. Cox will use VoIP technology in all these markets and will also launch its first commercial VoIP-based solution to business customers in Roanoke, Va., later this year.

"For seven years now, Cox Digital Telephone has provided outstanding value to the customers we serve," said David Pugliese, Cox's vice president of product marketing and management. "Overwhelmingly, our telephone customers tell us that Cox's value is inherent in the savings we provide and in our ability to provide quality products that are supported by customer-driven solutions, such as simplified billing and payment options and superior customer care."

Today, 58 percent of Cox's phone customers subscribe to its three-product offering of telephone, high-speed Internet and video services, according to company research. The high satisfaction among Cox telephone customers is evident in recent findings by J.D. Power and Associates. For the second consecutive year, Cox ranked highest in the Residential Local Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) in the Western Region(a). Nationwide, Cox's bundled customers ranked Cox No. 1 in customer satisfaction for bundled long-distance telephone service in J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Long Distance Telephone Service Study(SM)(b). Cox provides telephone service to more than 1.1 million residential customers and 100,000 business locations.

Cox's VoIP technology enables phone calls to be transported over Cox's private, IP-based data network, with priority given to voice. This differs greatly from Internet Telephone solutions that use the public Internet to transport telephone calls, thereby making voice packets susceptible to the same slowdowns as data traffic on the Internet. In addition, Internet Telephone providers require a broadband connection to transport phone calls through the public Internet; broadband access is not a prerequisite to becoming a Cox Digital Telephone subscriber since Cox does not utilize the public Internet to deliver calls. Lastly, Cox Digital Telephone provides access to the Federal Communications Commission-mandated Enhanced 911 system. By contrast, most Internet Telephone providers are not integrated with E-911 networks so critical address and location information is not delivered to the nearest Public Safety Answering Point. For further information on Cox's VoIP technology, visit http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/76/76341/ May_whitepaper_2.pdf. (Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field.)

"We've proved that cable providers can be successful as telephone providers and we look forward to continuing to offer telephone service to a broader segment of our residential and commercial customer base in 2005," Pugliese said.

About Cox Communications

Cox Communications Inc. (NYSE: COX), a FORTUNE 500 company, is a multi-service broadband communications company with approximately 6.6 million total customers, including approximately 6.3 million basic cable subscribers. The nation's third-largest cable television provider, Cox offers both analog cable television under the Cox Cable brand as well as advanced digital video service under the Cox Digital Cable brand. Cox provides an array of other communications and entertainment services, including local and long-distance telephone under the Cox Digital Telephone brand, high-speed Internet access under the Cox High Speed Internet brand, and commercial voice and data services via Cox Business Services. Local cable advertising, promotional opportunities and production services are sold under the Cox Media brand. Cox is an investor in programming networks including Discovery Channel. More information about Cox Communications can be accessed on the Internet at www.cox.com.

(a) J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Residential Local Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study(SM). Study conducted among 10,579 residential users of local telephone services. The Western region includes 16 states. www.jdpower.com

(b) J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Residential Long Distance Customer Satisfaction Study. Study conducted among 10,579 residential long-distance users. Bundled segment includes residential long-distance customers who are billed for other telecom services on the same statement. www.jdpower.com