Cox Giving Up Completely on Wireless Business

Cox Communications, which in May stopped operating its own cellular networks, said this week that it plans to completely exit the cellphone business.

The cable company said that it will stop selling cellular service as of today and will discontinue service to current customers as of March, though it promised to help them transition to other providers. Cox has been reselling 3G service from Sprint to customers in about half of its service areas.

Existing customers will get a $150 credit on their bill for each line of wireless service and keep their phone as well as any deals they had for bundling their phone and cable services.

“Cox is working to make this transition as seamless and easy as possible for our customers,” Executive VP Len Barlik said in a statement.

In making the decision, Cox cited several reasons, including the rapid shift to 4G and its inability to land “iconic devices.”