Cable TV subscribers will notice a new name on their cable bills by July - Suddenlink Communications.

Cebridge, the company that bought Cox Communications cable service in Eastern North Carolina, is changing its name to Suddenlink. Cebridge's purchase of Cox cable in Kinston became official earlier this week.

The deal between Atlanta-based Cox and Cebridge Connections Inc., managed by Cequel III, LLC of St. Louis, covers 940,000 subscribers. Cox North Carolina has about 99,000 customers.

Cox employees in North Carolina received letters in March saying whether they would have a job after the sale. Cox will not say how many employees will lost their jobs, but said "an overwhelming majority" would remain with the company.

Customers are not expected to notice any difference in their service, the company says. Subscribers who pay their bills on line can continue to use the www.cox.com Web site for now.

Included in the sale to Cebridge are Cox's systems in West Texas, serving Lubbock, Midland, Amarillo, San Angelo and Abilene areas; North Carolina, serving Kinston, Greenville, Rocky Mount, New Bern; Humboldt County and Bakersfield, California; and much of Middle America Cox (MAC), primarily comprised of operations in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. MAC also includes certain systems in Oklahoma, Mississippi and Missouri. Excluded from the sale are some MAC operations serving Northwest Arkansas and Lafayette, Louisiana areas.

"Our management team has a long history of building successful companies in suburban and second-tier markets, and we are especially excited about the potential in these properties we have acquired from Cox," Cebridge Chief Executive Officer Jerry Kent said. "We're also excited about the terrific group of employees joining us and we look forward to working with them on expanding the array of services we offer and on combining our resources to ensure world-class care for our customers."

Cebridge is a major operator of cable TV systems, providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and other advanced services. Upon closing its announced acquisition of cable systems from Charter Communications later this year, the combined company will serve approximately 1.4 million customers.

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