PBN: How is Verizon’s new FiOS cable television service affecting Cox’s business in Rhode Island?

CRONIN: It’s important to recognize that Cox welcomes the competition in our space...In terms of the level of intensity in this marketplace, Verizon is a committed competitor...and they’re coming at us very hard. They’re spending a lot of money in this market in their marketing and advertising to lure our customers away… We ultimately feel that in this competitive market, the winners are going to be determined by who does the best job providing the best customer experience...

PBN: Cox Business’s new VoiceManager telephony package is the latest products or services that Cox has tested and deployed in Rhode Island before rolling them out nationally. Why is that?

CRONIN: I think it’s a couple of things. One is the Cox New England operation has been here for a while, it’s a well-established brand in the marketplace, we have a very good reputation with the consumers in this marketplace, and we score very high with our customer satisfaction scores in this marketplace. If you don’t mind me bragging for a second, I think we’ve got a very talented employee base here, and that along with some of the market dynamics – it’s a very condensed market – this makes for a great market to trial and introduce our new products.