Technology and Trust Drive Upward Growth of Cox Business Services
Cox Grows its Commercial Business Revenue by 50%, Celebrates its 100,000th Customer Location in New England
Atlanta, GA
NYSE:COX

ATLANTA - Since its launch in 1998, Cox Business Services, the commercial broadband division of Cox Communications, Inc. (NYSE: COX), has experienced record growth in revenue and customer locations*. Revenue growth has equaled approximately 50 percent each year and during the first half of 2003, revenue has grown 24 percent over the same period in 2002. Cox attributes its capability to deliver critical voice and broadband services, coupled with trusted business expertise, as its primary drivers of success.

To recognize the growth of Cox Business Services, Cox will honor its 100,000th customer location, State-Wide Multiple Listing Service in Warwick, Rhode Island --- a Cox customer for telephone and data services.

"Cox is in a unique position in the commercial services arena," said Bill Stemper, vice president of Cox Business Services in Atlanta. "All of our pieces ---- from the network we own and manage, to our architecture with built-in reliability to the business solutions and expertise we offer to small- and medium-sized business owners and enterprise alike --- contribute to the sense of trust that our customers have with us. Trust is a critical part of doing business in today's environment and it will contribute to the ongoing success of Cox Business Services."

A closer look at Cox's customers reveals its breadth of reach --- encompassing enterprises, small and medium businesses as well as government properties and teleworkers/home offices. Many school systems and air force bases, hospitals, enterprises and airports, law firms and teleworkers trust Cox for the delivery of circuit-switched telephone and long distance services, high-speed Internet access, web hosting, virtual private networks (VPN) and data transport services.

Approximately 40 percent of Cox's commercial services customers choose to bundle their voice and data services, according to company research. State-wide Multiple Listing Service chose Cox for its ability to provide reliable, one-stop shopping for telecommunications services - a testament to the business efficiencies achieved by Cox's bundled services.

"The state of real estate has changed dramatically," said Susan Arnold ESQ., CEO and general counsel of State-Wide Multiple Listing Service. "We have 4,000 realtors and affiliates who count on us around-the-clock for a real-time picture of what's for sale in today's hot real estate market --- a minute offline translates to a missed opportunity for us, our members and their buyers and sellers." The State-Wide Multiple Listing Service provides local realtors the most complete database of realtor-listed properties in Rhode Island, as well as other advanced marketing tools such as its public website, RILiving.com, which provides virtual tours, extensive search functions and comprehensive resources on financing and local information; an on-line contract and transaction management system; remote data accessibility; and economic analysis reports.

Moving from a business-to-business outreach to business-to-consumer has also heightened State-Wide Multiple Listing Service's emphasis on reliability and speed. By working with Cox, the company feels comfortable that it can address its future bandwidth and telecommunications needs with ease.

Cox Business Services products and services include: dedicated data transmission up to OC-192 speeds over fiber, T-1 and ATM, as well as VPN; Internet access; switched voice and long distance; video services and music choice; web hosting and E-commerce; and carrier access services.

About Cox Business Services
Cox Business Services is a division of Atlanta-based Cox Communications, Inc., the nation's fourth largest cable broadband communications company. A full-service, facilities-based provider of communications solutions, Cox Business Services excels at helping businesses of all sizes generate greater efficiencies. The company offers high-speed Internet services; switched voice and long-distance services; and dedicated voice, data and video transport services for home offices, small, medium and large-sized businesses, school districts and hospitality, government and military properties in 28 markets across the nation. For more information, visit www.coxbusiness.com.

* A Cox customer location is a single business location with one ore more active Cox data, voice or transport services on one or more accounts. Video-only business customers are not included in this figure.
 

Media Contact:
Cox Communications
Laura Oberhelman
(404) 269-7562
laura.oberhelman@cox.com

EDITOR'S NOTE: On October 28, 2003, Cox Communications will announce its third quarter 2003 financial earnings which will include more recent figures for Cox Business Services' revenues. Visit www.cox.com/pressroom for a copy of the release on October 28.
 

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