Jessica Goff

jgoff@theadvertiser.com

Cox Cable’s analog phaseout appears to be irking some of its customers.

Last month, the company ended analog service for Louisiana subscribers who are now required to rent and install “mini-boxes” for each television to receive cable.

Cox estimates about 22 percent of its customer base still uses analog service.

In September, Cox director of marketing Bruce Berkinshaw told The Daily Advertiser analog takes up too much bandwidth and just isn't an efficient way to deliver services.

The company can deliver up to 350 channels to digital customers, which is why it started its Go All-Digital campaign.

"Since we began our efforts to Go All Digital, we have received fantastic feedback from our customers. Nearly all Cox customers have made the switch and are enjoying the many benefits it offers," Cox said in a statement Tuesday.

"The mini box provides 100 percent digital picture, an on-screen program guide, over 40 channels in HD and 50 channels of commercial-free music, also known as Music Choice. These are benefits that were not previously available to analog subscribers. Our move to an all-digital platform will support future enhancements of various products, including high-speed internet upgrades, HD channel growth and On Demand expansion."

Still, some Cox customers appear to be switching to LUS Fiber.

“Our daily sales in the last two months have almost tripled,” Terry Huval, director of the Lafayette Utilities System, said Tuesday. “We always have new costumer sales every day, but it has all of the sudden started jumping up. We found out what was going on because customers were telling us what was going on.

"What they are concerned about is for a long time they've had cable service from Cox where they just had to hook up their TV directly to the wall. And now the requirement to set up boxes, it is more inconvenient for costumers.”

Cox provided customers with three months notice before the digital switch and temporarily offered the boxes for free. Mini boxes can now be rented by Cox subscribers for $2.99 a month.

The cable company is encouraging users who experience problems to notify their service office.

"If customers have not had a positive experience with the mini box, they simply need to call Cox so we can work with them to resolve the issue," the company said in Tuesday's statement. "We’ve consistently updated our services and infrastructure to meet the demands of future technology needs in order to provide the best products available in the marketplace."