CoxSmart Program Makes "Dollars and Sense" for Commercial Real Estate

In Orange County, smart real estate developers and property managers are connecting with Cox Business Service's CoxSmart Program - and brisk business is exceeding expectations.

CoxSmart Commercial Building Program

Through the CoxSmart Commercial Building Program, tenants are provided with a single-source connection for high-speed Internet access, phone, video capabilities and more through Cox's high-speed fiber optic-based network.

CoxSmart is an ideal solution, offering the most popular communications solutions, all over one network. Whether connectivity is needed for one site or for multiple locations, Cox provides access to the services commercial business tenants want and need to manage and grow their businesses.

Brenexus Limited Edition Gets CoxSmart

Brenexus Limited Edition, formed through a partnership between Steve Bren of Bacchus Development and Nexus Companies, is currently working on construction of 35 new small buildings for sale through 2004-2005.

For Brenexus Limited Edition, one of Orange County's premier commercial real estate developers, CoxSmart makes dollars and sense. At the Irvine Spectrum, for the first time business owners have the opportunity to purchase buildings in a premier location, ranging from 5,000 to10, 000 square feet - all of which are connected to Cox's superior fiber optic network.

According to Jeffrey John Bitetti, executive vice president of marketing for Brenexus Limited Edition, the construction/development business is all about organization, details and efficiency, while surpassing customers' expectations. Brenexus Limited Edition does that by providing business owners the opportunity to control their real estate destiny by purchasing buildings ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet. The company has an additional 38 units planned, all of which will contain the CoxSmart capabilities.

"I first became acquainted with Cox on the residential side, where they were established as the predominant carrier for the coastal communities," recalls Bitetti. "When we were planning our first 35 single-user units, we contacted all of the carriers such as SBC, Cox, etc., to help us choose the premier carrier.

"The customer service level we received at Cox was heads above the competitors. The people we were dealing with were "johnny-on-the-spot" - they were extremely responsive to requests, and we got attention from the executive vice president of sales all the way down to the field people installing the conduit for our project."

Bitetti was pleased to learn that he could offer Cox's complete suite of communication services in his leading-edge development at the Irvine Spectrum due to Cox's recent expansion of its fiber optic network in that area.

"Cox offers businesses enhanced Internet services utilizing their fiber optic network which extends from customers' offices to the Cox network. It provides customers with fiber optic service without paying for installation of their own fiber in the street," explains Bitetti. "And that is a major plus in communications efficiency and cost savings."

"I believe that teaming up with Cox, offers our buyers efficiency, as Cox is a one-stop shop. It also offers the latest and greatest in service and technology. Because the network is so robust and vast, it responds to the ever-changing needs as technology evolves in the marketplace."

End-user Customers Praise CoxSmart options

Kimberly and Jim Ridge, co-owners of Ridge Landscape Architects, recently moved into the Brenexus Limited Edition complex in Irvine.

"It was an excellent move for us to purchase our own building, and we were very happy to see it equipped with the CoxSmart capabilities right from the beginning, said Kimberly Ridge. "Cox did a great job in moving us in, and took care of everything to get us up and running."

The Ridges appreciate the speed with which the fiber optic advantages allow them to do their work, as well. "The high-speed Internet capabilities are extremely important to our work, as we constantly do file transfers via the Internet, do on-line research and simply are on the computer all the time," she continued. "It also comes in handy when we work from home where we have Cox telephone and high speed Internet. The whole package works well for us, and we've been very pleased with the service."

Superior products
By providing data and high-speed Internet solutions that are flexible, Cox offers connectivity to everyone - from one-person offices to large branch offices with hundreds of employees. High-quality video services are available as well as other services such as:

• Transport services from T-1 to OC 48
• Transparent LAN Connections up to Gig-E
• Local and long distance telephone service
• Cox Optical Internet up to 100 Mbps
• Web Hosting

Other specialized services such as collocation, videoconferencing and distance learning applications are offered in select markets.

Connecting is easy

Customers need only to make one call to receive technical support and customer care from a team of locally based professionals. And, by maintaining its local focus and effectively using its cable assets and resources, Cox offers reliability that is difficult to match.

Superior customer service is a Cox tradition

Customers know they can rely on the Cox tradition of superior, personal customer service. In fact, Cox received the highest honor in J.D. Power and Associates' 2003 Residential Local Telephone Customer Satisfaction Study, ranking the highest in overall customer service in the Western Region.*

Cox System Architecture

Cox realized early on that offering customers the convenience of bundling all of their telephone services (local and long distance) from one provider would be a "value add." Because Cox owns and maintains its own network, the company made a major investment in fiber optics. Cox's high-capacity communications services utilize thousands of miles of fiber optic-based cable, a self-healing, fault-tolerant architecture and state-of-the-art transmission equipment, in addition to a variety of transparent LAN and next-generation ATM networking systems. Cox supports and protects its customers' communications through its Network Operations Center (NOC), which monitors the network 24x7.

Additionally, because Cox owns and manages its own network and equipment, the total equipment cost is less for Cox than it is for other network providers. That savings is passed down to customer, ultimately providing a welcome, added benefit of cost savings.

Cox Business Internet Advantages

Cox provides businesses with high-speed features such as:

• Multiple addresses available
• No local loop charges on most products
• Domain name registration (www.yourcompany.com) for a professional Web presence
• "Always on" connection
• No phone line needed
• Reliable network up-time
• High data integrity
• Local 24x7 network support

CoxSmart helps sell properties

According to Bitetti, "In today's real estate market, time is of the essence. Coordinating the details of a building is a huge, time-consuming part of our job. Working with Cox, we know we'll get great, reliable service and we won't have to worry about that aspect in the closing process."

As Brenexus Limited Edition sales have exceeded expectations, Bitetti is confident that CoxSmart contributes to that success. "At the end of the day, if we can make business work for our buyers as seamlessly as possible by providing all types of services - and the Cox team actually becomes part of our 'Team Solution' marketing team - we give our buyers one less thing to worry about, and we've got happy customers … which makes me a happy Cox customer!"

*J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Residential Local Telephone Customer Satisfaction StudySM. Study conducted among 8,500 residential users of local telephone services. The Western Region includes 16 states. For more information visit: www.jdpower.com.