Cox Communications will run an ad during Super Bowl LI Sunday regionally in San Diego to pump Panoramic WiFi, a new whole-home WiFi product that the operator started to roll out in California last fall.
The ad is part of a larger marketing campaign, developed in partnership with Doner, that Cox will use also use print, outdoor and digital components to promote the whole-home offering as Cox expands the availability of the product.
Comcast took a similar approach last year when it ran a spot showcasing X1 during last year’s Super Bowlon CBS in dozens of the MSO’s local markets.
Cox’s ad to be shown during Super Bowl uses a family of Parkour and Acrobatic artists to “portray the exciting feats of ‘Wall-to-Wall Fast’ Panoramic WiFi,” and how the new platform can keep everyone and their devices connected in every corner of the home. Working with director Joseph Kahn, known for directing music videos for U2, Moby, and DMX, the routine was filmed forwards and backwards “to show how the product defies expectations and just how truly exceptional the coverage is,” Cox said.
Watch the ad:
Cox has been asked for pricing details on Panoramic WiFi, but this customer Web page notes that it utilizes the Arris TG2472, a 24x8 DOCSIS 3.0-based, dual-band 802.11ac WiFi modem, in tandem with optional Wireless Extenders, Cox’s My WiFi in-home networking monitoring platform/app, and features a “WiFi Centric” pro install, and 24/7 “enhanced support.” For Cox’s 1-Gig “Gigablast” service, which currently uses FTTP technology, the MSO is supporting Panoramic WiFi with a managed Netgear R6300 router.
Update: Cox said the new WiFi product is currently available in all its California markets, and that it will expand it to additional Cox markets later this year. Its Panoramic WiFi product, including the premium modem/WiFi router combo, costs $9.99 per month, and an additional $4 per month per WiFi extender, if needed. Pro install charges also apply.
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Kevin Hart, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Cox, hinted at the new whole-home WiFi product last fall in a tech roundtable held prior to the SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in Philadelphia. In addition to using high-end WiFi gateways, the plan also includes the implantation of RDK-B, the broadband-facing version of the Reference Design Kit, the preintegrated stack for video devices and gateways being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications.
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Cox is among a growing number of ISPs that have deployed, or soon plan to offer, specialized whole-home WiFi products.
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“Broadband service is no longer just a fast internet connection to your home. Today people expect WiFi that connects all devices anywhere in the home – around walls, upstairs, down stairs, on the patio,” said Gaston Vaneri, senior vice president of brand at Cox, said in a statement. “They want continuous access – to stats, instant replays, social feeds. Panoramic WiFi from Cox delivers just that – wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, backwards and forward. We had a little fun showing that with the launch spot.”
