Cox Offers Phone Service to Businesses

Cox Communications Inc., the Atlanta-based cable giant that has been courting local consumers with high-speed Internet service, said Wednesday that is now offering long and local telephone service to businesses.

The company, which began selling phone service to residential customers in 1997, is providing service to businesses throughout Orange County.

“For the past five months, we’ve been testing the service and have signed up about 100 customers,” said Dave Montierth, vice president of Cox Business Services in Orange County. “Businesses from San Clemente to Newport Beach can use us for phone service.”

But there’s one caveat: location. Would-be customers are out of luck if their businesses are not in the cable company’s service area. A couple of key pockets where Cox does not yet offer phone service include parts of Newport Beach and Irvine.

For the past year, the telecommunications world has touted the small-business market as the next hot arena.