PROVIDENCE – Cox Communications Inc. has started constructing wireless towers in Rhode Island as it lays the groundwork to begin offering cell phone service in the state, Providence Business News has confirmed.

Cox has received approval from a number of municipalities in the state to put up wireless antennas in their communities, Amy Quinn, a Cox spokeswoman in Rhode Island, said in an e-mail.

“Unfortunately, we cannot provide additional details on where or how many towers have already been installed, or are yet to be installed,” she said.

In recent months, Cox has sought zoning approvals to put antennas on church steeples, smokestacks, water tanks, existing towers and other structures in communities across the state, including Providence, Cranston, Jamestown and Woonsocket, according to municipal records. Some of the sites would be shared with other carriers such as AT&T Inc.

Cox first revealed plans to offer wireless service as part of its bundled packages of cable TV, Internet and phone service in October 2008. The company already owned wireless spectrum in Rhode Island at the time.

Closely held Cox has released few details about when its wireless network will start operating in Rhode Island. The company expects to start selling the service in three markets – Orange County, Calif., Omaha, Neb., and Hampton Roads, Va. – sometime in the next two to three months, President Pat Esser told Bloomberg News earlier this month. The launch had previously been slated for last fall, and then March.

“We’ve been trying to integrate our services so it is the fourth leg of our bundle,” Esser said. “Mobility allows us to overlay a wireless mesh on our wired network that gives people the ability to access content, entertainment and communications outside of the home.”

Cox has said it plans to use Sprint Nextel Corp.’s network to cover places where its own network is not yet set up when it starts offering it to customers. The company’s new wireless division also signed an interconnection agreement for Rhode Island with Verizon New England Inc. last August.

Staff Writer Chris Barrett contributed to this report.

Additional information is available at cox.com.

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