Cox Connects Customers With Accounts on Internet

Cable television operator Cox Communications Inc. said Wednesday it has introduced a new service that allows Orange County subscribers to go online to order movies, schedule appointments, view their account histories and pay their cable bills.

The company launched the service in 12 of its 20 markets nationwide with the goal of simplifying customers’ lives, said Cox’s local spokeswoman, Laura Oberhelman.

“This offers them convenience,” she said. “Rather than having to call our customer service representatives and wait on the phone, they can do all that . . . on their personal computers.”

Cox claims that its online offering is the most comprehensive in the industry.

Local customers like the new package, said Patti Marciano, Cox’s local manager of e-commerce. One reason the program is gaining approval, she said, is because so many Orange County residents have personal computers with Internet access.

“We have added this in response to our customers’ desire to conduct their business with us electronically,” Marciano said.

Sharon Armbrust, senior analyst at Paul Kagan Associates Inc., a Carmel investment research firm, said the new service puts Cox in the vanguard of the industry. She said she expects other cable companies to follow suit.

“AOL just bought Time Warner, and don’t think they’re not going to try to put as many things as they can online, ranging from magazine subscriptions to cable service to record clubs,” Armbrust said. “This is the way things are going.”

Other major cable operators include Charter Communications Inc., Adelphia Communications and AT&T.;

Cox’s online services are free to subscribers. New customers also can sign up for Cox online at https://www.cox.com/oc.

After closing pending acquisitions, Cox will serve about 6 million customers across the country. It has 230,000 subscribers in Orange County, the company said.