1962
Cox enters cable television, purchasing systems in Lewistown, Lock Haven and Tyrone, Pa., followed by systems in California, Oregon and Washington.
1964
Cox Broadcasting Corp. (later Cox Communications Inc.) established as a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Macon, Ga., system purchased.
1965
Point-to-point microwave common carrier system purchased.
1966
Bakersfield, Calif., system acquired.
1967
Full ownership of San Diego system acquired.
1968
Ocala, Fla., system acquired.
Cox Cable Communications is incorporated to consolidate Cox’s cable interests.
1969
Telesystems Corp. acquired.
Jim Robbins begins his career in television at WBZ-TV Boston as assistant producer, rising to managing news editor before his 1972 departure.
1970
Lubbock, Texas, system acquired.
1971
Federal Communications Commission requires cable systems to provide local-origination programming.
Cox builds first cable system in Davenport and Betendorf, Iowa, and Moline, East Moline and Silvas, Ill.
Cox Cable Communications stock moves from over-the-counter trading to the American Stock Exchange.
Santa Barbara, Calif., system acquired.
1972
Company’s total customer base is 262,333.
Cleveland cable system is acquired.
1973
Majority interest in suburban Hartford, Conn., (New England) franchises are acquired.
1974
Cox tests home shopping through cable in four systems .
Company purchases 30% stake in Denmark cable system.
1975
Roanoke, Va., system is acquired.
Company serves 386,861 customers and has 765 employees.
Average customer bill of Cox subscribers is $6.47.
1976
Cox begins using satellite technology to access programming.
Pensacola, Fla., system is purchased.
1977
Systems in Humboldt, Calif., and Hampton Roads, Va., are acquired.
General Electric Co. proposes a purchase of Cox Broadcasting and its divisions, including Cox Cable, Cox Television and Cox Radio. But the deal is never consummated.
1978
Cox presents the Larry Campbell family in Roanoke, Va., with a new color television as the company’s 500,000th customer.
Oklahoma City system is acquired.
1979
Robbins begins a stint at Viacom Cable, starting as vice president of the New York operations and then becoming senior vice president of operations.
1981
CableRep, the advertising sales division of Cox Cable, is established
Cox begins testing INDAX (Interactive Data Exchange) in San Diego. INDAX was precursor to interactive television.
Systems launched in New Orleans; Omaha, Neb.; and Cranston- Johnson, R.I.
The 1 millionth customer is signed up.
Fiber-optic cable used by Cox to transport video signals for the first time in Great Neck, N.Y.
Robbins Joins Cox
1983
Robbins joins Cox Cable as vice president of its New York operations
1984
Cox Broadcasting spins off cable as Cox Cable Communications Inc.
Robbins elevated to Cox’s senior vice president of Atlanta and New Orleans operations.
1985
Public shares of Cox Cable Communications are merged into Cox Enterprises Inc., taking it private.
Robbins is elevated to president of Cox Cable Communications.
Cox conducts its first customer- service survey.
1986
Pay-per-view programming is offered by Cox as a regular service.
Initial investment in Discovery Communications Inc. is made by Cox.
1987
Home Premiere Television is launched by Cox, providing customers access to first-run movies at the same time they’re available at home-video locations.
1988
Cox builds its own Internet protocol network in five months and launches Cox High Speed Internet.
1989
Company reaches 1.5 million customers.
Cox becomes a franchisee of Blockbuster Home Video.
Company becomes first cable operator to establish company-wide customer-service standards.
Cox becomes a founding member of Cable in the Classroom.
1990
Cox Enterprises tops $2 billion in revenues for first time.
1991
Cox partners with four cable operators to establish direct broadcast satellite company Primestar and begins offering service in Cox markets
Company helps create UK Gold, a channel featuring classic British programming for the U.K. market.
Robbins becomes chairman of the National Cable Television Association.
1992
Cox makes the world’s first PCS phone call, resulting in Pioneer’s Preference Award from the Federal Communications Commission.
Cox named Operator of the Year by Cablevision magazine.
Company becomes the first cable firm to invest in Teleport Communications Group.
Congress passes the 1992 Cable Act, re-regulating the industry.
1993
Venture offering cable and telephone service in the United Kingdom is launched via a partnership with Southwestern Bell. A $4.9 billion U.S. merger with Cox cable systems also was planned but fell apart in 1994.
Cox becomes the first operator to test the delivery of Prodigy online services via cable, in San Diego.
The company’s first National Model Technology School is established in Chula Vista, Calif.
Fibernet alternate-access business launches in Hampton Roads, Va.
1994
Cox establishes a partnership with Times Mirror Co. to develop programming, resulting in the creation of Outdoor Life and Speedvision networks.
Robbins Becomes CEO
1995
Cox acquires Times Mirror Cable Television, increasing the number of customers served from 1.8 million to 3.2 million, with new customers in Phoenix; Orange County, Calif.; Palos Verdes, Calif.; and other markets.
The company drops “cable” from its name, becoming Cox Communications Inc.
Cox becomes a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange
Cox forms the Sprint Telecommunications Venture with Sprint, Tele-Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp., and wins licenses to deliver personal communication services wireless communications in 31 major metro areas.
Cox divests its overseas system and network holdings.
Robbins becomes CEO.
1996
Cox@Home launches in Orange County, Calif.
Sprint PCS is launched by Cox in San Diego.
Partnership with Frontier Corp. to offer long-distance phone service is announced.
Congress passes the 1996 Telecommunications Act, deregulating the industry and encouraging additional competition in the telecommunications industry.
1997
Trades of cable systems with Tele-Communications Inc. and U.S. West Media Group are completed. The system swaps significantly expand the size of the systems in Hampton Roads, Va.; New England; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix; and Louisiana.
Cox Digital Cable launched in Orange County, Calif.
Cox Digital Telephone launched in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
Orange County becomes first system in the nation to deliver high-speed Internet access, local and long-distance switched telephone service and digital video to customers over one broadband network, from one company.
1998
Tucson, Ariz., system is acquired.
Cox wins the Interop Infr@structure Award for Most Innovative Cable Company.
Cable operations in Las Vegas are purchased, making Cox the largest operator in the Southwest.
1999
More than 2.1 million customers acquired from Gannett Co., AT&T Broadband, TCA Cable, and Media General Inc., resulting in nearly 6 million customers in 18 states (including systems in Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Texas).
Northern Virginia system acquired.
Cox again wins the Interop Infr@structure award for Most Innovative Cable Company.
Cox adds 550,000 “revenue generating units” from its services.
2000
Cox acquires additional systems, including operations in Tulsa, Okla., and Baton Rouge, La.
Cox Business Services is established as a formal business unit.
Cox adds 910,000 revenue generating units of new digital video, telephone and high-speed Internet access services, totaling 1.6 million revenue generating units since the new services began in 1996.
Cox enters the Fortune 500 list, with $3.5 billion in annual revenues.
Robbins named one of Forbes magazine’s Most Powerful People.
2001
Entertainment-on-Demand launched in San Diego and Hampton Roads, Va.
On the fifth anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Cox delivers on the promise of competition with 250,000 digital telephone; 500,000 high-speed Internet; 850,000 digital cable; and 650,000 bundled customers.
Robbins is named one of Forbes magazine’s Most Powerful People for the second consecutive year.
2002
Cox builds its own Internet protocol network in five months and launches Cox High Speed Internet.
The 500,000th digital-telephone-customer signs up.
HDTV launched in Omaha, Neb., Las Vegas and Phoenix.
FreeZone, the first on-demand advertising channel, launches.
Communications Technology and Multichannel News magazines name Cox Operator of the Year.
2003
J.D. Power and Associates names Cox the top telephone service provider in the western region.
PC Magazine gives Cox High Speed Internet its Readers’ Choice award.
Cox launches new services, including HDTV, digital video recorders and entertainment-on- demand in select markets.
Cox Digital Telephone launches throughout the entire service area in Tucson, Ariz., making it the first full-market launch of phone service in Cox history.
Cox rolls out first phone service via voice-over-Internet protocol technology in Roanoke, Va.
Cox Business Services surpasses the 100,000-customer milestone.
2004
Cox Digital Telephone receives J.D. Power and Associates’ highest honor in local and bundled-long- distance-telephone customer satisfaction.
Cox Communications becomes a privately-run business, once again, effective Dec. 3, 2004.
Robbins Retires
2005
Robbins retires at year’s end. Following retirement, Robbins will join the board of directors of Cox Enterprises Inc. and will continue serving on the board of Cox Communications.
