Cox, Cable One charge ahead with all-digital deployment plans

Cox Communications and Cable One continue to charge ahead with all-digital conversions in Midwest and Southern regional markets.

Cable One has already told customers in its South Mississippi region that they will need new digital boxes to continue to receive signals. This is part of a plan by the Phoenix, Ariz.-based MSO to spend $28 million over the next five years to upgrade network infrastructure for its Gulf Coast systems. The company wants to complete the digital upgrade by mid-March.

Cable One is providing two free digital set-tops for each customer and charging $5 for each additional box. 

"It does increase bandwidth for us to where we can roll out higher speed Internet," Jim Duck, GM of Cable One's Long Beach/Gulfport region, told local ABC affiliate WLOX-TV. "It frees up bandwidth and it also enhances their viewing opportunities."

Concurrently, Cox is currently deploying all-digital upgrades in Topeka, Kan., with upgrades also underway in Rhode Island, Tulsa, Omaha, Cleveland, New Orleans, Arkansas, Kansas and San Diego, Calif. A Cox rep told Multichannel News that the company aims to complete its broader all-digital conversions by early 2017.

According to the pub, Cox is aiding these conversions by deploying a Digital Transport Adapter (DTA) that converts digital signals to analog. The DTAs, which are manufactured by vendors including Evolution Digital and Cisco Systems, include HDMI ports, and come with remote controls and on-screen program guides. 

For more:
- read this WLOX-TV post
- read this Topeka Capital-Journal story
- read this Gulf Live story
- read this Cable One press release
- read this Multichannel News story

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