Guest Commentary

Cox VP of Public Affairs Responds to Editorial

By Scott Broyles, Vice President of Public Affairs, Cox Northern Virginia

Like many others reading your editorial last week (“The FIOS Factor”) I was amazed by the Verizon endorsement provided by the News-Press – despite the attempt to convince readers otherwise by suggesting that your “reporting does not constitute an intention to favor one of the three companies competing for your business … it is simply reporting the facts.”

It sure didn’t read that way. Had the News-Press not relied solely on the Verizon press releases (which daily over-hype FIOS as some mystical second coming of technology), one would find the following are the real facts that Falls Church residents deserve to know.

The News-Press calls FIOS “the biggest, baddest Internet access technology there is.” Fact: it’s a mere spinoff of the fiber technology Cox has been using for the past 8 years since we became the first cable operator in the country to launch digital telephone service – and a mere spinoff of the same fiber optic strategy Cox deployed in Falls Church three years ago. Cox has enough fiber optic technology running throughout the City today to provide everything Verizon is promising for the future.

Cox spent $500 million upgrading its 4,400-mile network with fiber. And just as Verizon’s DSL Internet service was rolled out years behind cable’s launch, Verizon’s foray into video is coming years after cable (remember Bell Atlantic’s 1995 failed video trial?). And just as they haven’t made DSL service available widespread, they are again planning to roll out FIOS services in only targeted, affluent areas, to avoid building out to tens of thousands of other residents.

The News-Press editorial also failed to mention that Cox’s fiber-rich network currently serving the City provides Falls Church residents with the full bundle of communications services available today: digital video, high-speed Internet and telephone service. In fact, when bundled together, Cox customers save significantly over the same trio of services offered by Verizon. And Cox provides 24/7 customer support and on-time guaranteed local service. (The last time I called Verizon with a phone problem they wouldn’t send a technician to fix it until I took my phone outside and plugged it into the side of the house to see if it worked there. Try doing that with your computer or television set when you call Verizon!)

nd let’s talk about customer convenience, or in the case of FIOS – inconvenience. FIOS service requires CAT-5 wiring in your home, and most homes are having to be rewired completely or wiring upgraded to get the service. And guess who pays for the re-wiring? Not Verizon.

Call today and you’d be lucky to get FIOS installed in a week. Cox offers same-day/next-day installation, and we also offer customers the opportunity to easily and conveniently self-install Cox Internet service if they prefer. Not Verizon.

Let’s also not forget about “the commitment.” Verizon requires its FIOS customers to sign a one-year contract – with stiff penalties imposed if they disconnect before the end of the period. Not Cox. No contracts or term agreement required to get our bundled service discounts.

And how could the News-Press fail to mention that Cox Business Services can also offer Falls Church businesses the full array of communications services that Verizon is “experimenting in California ”? That’s right. Falls Church commercial businesses can get it all – voice, video and Internet – all with Cox Business Services, today! Falls Church already has “a built-in huge incentive for the most trendy, cutting edge, high-tech businesses to locate here” as the News-Press writes. It’s called Cox Business Services, providing businesses across the country from Fortune 500 companies to favorite small town shops like Brown’s Hardware on West Broad Street with all their communications needs.

And you don’t have to take just our word for it. Ask the Herndon-Dulles Chamber of Commerce (named Cox “Technology Company of the Year”); Fairfax County (named Cox “Community Partner of the Year”); the Hispanic Committee of Northern Virginia (named Cox “Business Partner of the Year”); or even Cable World magazine (named Cox “Cable Operator of the Year”).

uite simply, there’s nothing the FIOS service can provide that Cox can’t provide to Falls Church residents and commercial businesses. And Cox has it available today. We would welcome the News-Press to give Cox Business Services a call and try first-hand our full bundle of video, Internet and telephone service. We guarantee the experience of our full-service bundle is better than just reading about it in a Verizon press release.

Broyles is a 15-year cable industry veteran, including four years as Director of Public Affairs for the National Cable Telecommunications Association (NCTA) before joining Cox Communications in February 2000.