WOW quietly chips away at Comcast, AT&T
WOW, also known as Wide Open West, has been quietly expanding around the suburbs, chipping away at Comcast and AT&T with its own triple play of high-speed Internet, TV and voiceover-Internet phone services.
But don't expect the Denver, Colo.-based firm to blanket the whole market by the end of the year. It's picking its battle with the big guys.
It's only in about 10 percent of the Chicago suburban market, including Naperville, Arlington Heights, Elgin, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Hoffman Estates, Des Plaines, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Streamwood and Mount Prospect. Maybe more next year, but those towns still are being played close to the vest, said Kelvin Fee, general manager and senior vice president of WOW.
“We're done for this year,” he said. “We finished Rolling Meadows last month and we're finished in Glenview. Were now looking at next year.”
The Naperville resident works at WOW's office in Naperville. Other offices are in Schaumburg, Chicago and South Suburban Calumet City.
The company is privately owned by Avista Capital Partners and has about 1,400 workers, including about 300 in those local offices. And they're working in the shadows of giants Comcast, which has its Midwest headquarters in Schaumburg, and AT&T, with its Midwest headquarters in Hoffman Estates.
“AT&T and Comcast, well, they're just mammoth,” Fee said. “We'll do the best we can and offer the best customer service. People notice the difference. And we offer competitive price.”
WOW offers up to 250 channels, digital offering, on-demand and other services. Prices are competitive, Fee said, depending on what is selected. Adding more features or speed increases the price, just like any other company. For example, the limited basic TV lineup, high-speed data of about 2 megabytes and telephone service cost roughly $89 a month.
WOW has about 500,000 customers in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. It's been operating since 1996. The company was then bought about 10 years ago from then-named Ameritech.
“For 6 or 7 years, we didn't do much with the company, just ran what we had and it wasn't until now that we thought it was comfortable enough to expand,” Fee said.
Besides offering phone, TV and Internet services, WOW plans to introduce DVR service later this year, where customers can record and watch TV anywhere as long as they have their equipment.
“We still have something for everyone,” said Fee.
Surfing: Verizon Wireless, which has its Midwest headquarters in Schaumburg, has activated new cell sites in Elk Grove Village, Huntley, Lake Bluff and North Chicago, improving its voice and data coverage and enabling customers in the area to rely on their wireless devices for more social networking, Internet browsing, downloading apps, exchanging email and text, picture and video messaging, oh, and making calls too.
Ÿ The LG Electronics 3-D TV Consumer Event continues today through Sunday at 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the center court at Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg. LG experts will enlighten consumers about 3-D TV and how to switch back and forth from 2D. You'll also have a chance to play “Throwdown” on Facebook to win a Cinema 3-D TV and Xbox bundle.
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