By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A pair of transactions worth tens of billions of dollars that will reshape cable and internet service across Arizona and the nation are now complete.
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Charter Communications announced Thursday it has finalized its merger with Cox Communications — a $34.5 billion deal and one of the largest in the cable industry’s history — while simultaneously closing its acquisition of Liberty Broadband Corporation in an all-stock transaction.
Cox is currently the largest cable and internet provider in the Phoenix area and southern Tucson. With the merger complete, Cox customers will transition to the Spectrum brand. New Spectrum pricing and plans are expected to roll out in all former Cox markets, including the Valley, by mid-September.
Charter already operates under the Spectrum name in Yuma County. The addition of Cox expands Spectrum’s footprint in Arizona to include the Valley and southern Tucson.
“The addition of Cox to the Spectrum footprint is one that can be celebrated by customers, employees and investors alike,” Charter President and CEO Chris Winfrey said in a written statement. “Together, we will bring the best products, at the best price, coupled with the highest level of customer service to more customers across our expanded 45-state Spectrum footprint.”
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Charter says the combined company is now the largest broadband and video provider in the United States.
Here’s what customers can expect:
- Right away: Spectrum is offering a free year of mobile service to Cox internet customers who don’t already have Cox Mobile.
- Mid-September: Spectrum plans to roll out its full lineup of products — Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice — to all former Cox customers under standard Spectrum pricing and packaging.
- Within the next year: Cox customers will gain Spectrum’s customer service guarantees, including 24/7 U.S.-based support, same-day technician visits for service calls made before 5 p.m., and bill credits for outages lasting longer than two hours.
Cox customers will see the Spectrum name on their bills going forward, but within a year, it’s Charter’s corporate parent that will actually take on the Cox Communications name.
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