Here’s an interesting message from Cox: You will not believe your cable company is offering you a fairly priced service! (see Cox’s Wireless Teaser Campaign: ‘Unbelievably Fair’).
No, that’s not what the MSO’s “Unbelievably Fair” campaign is supposed to imply, but that’s what some might hear. The point of comparison is with the prevailing wireless service plans from AT&T, Verizon Wireless, et al.
Cox’s promise seems to be that its mobile plans will be… somehow less illogical.
The cable operator isn’t saying what that actually means, so as to not tip off competitors sooner than necessary. Could it be an unlimited voice, texting and data plan under, say, 50 bucks per month? That’s a simple, compelling deal.
Remember, cable’s flat-rate, all-you-can-eat broadband (vs. the pay-per-minute plans of AOL and other dial-up ISPs) was a blockbuster. On the other hand, surging Internet usage has turned that model on its head and all broadband service providers now are grappling with the issue of how to manage that demand without pissing off customers — see AT&T: Avast, Ye iPhone Hogs! and Why Monthly Broadband Usage Caps Won’t Really Work (But Usage-Based Billing Will).
I do think Cox has an opportunity to win share in mobile — assuming the service delivers on consumer expectations — purely on bundling and pricing. Interestingly, Cox’s gains might be partly at the expense of Sprint, which is wholesaling 3G access to the MSO for the initial rollouts.
Is this Pivot done right? (See Why Pivot Was DOA.) Cox is about to find out. It controls the pricing, the handsets, the features, the customer service… and you can bet Cox will be watching like a hawk to make sure Sprint meets its service-level agreements.
Here’s a clip from the “Unbelievably Fair” campaign:
