U.S. Cable TV provider Cox Communications will announce today that it plans to have its own mobile  network up and running next year.

The company will spend $550 million on licenses to use the airwaves. The Atlanta-based company plans to build its own network in its cable service area, and partner with Sprint Nextel Corp. for roaming outside those areas.

It has licences to cover Atlanta, New Orleans, San Diego, Omaha, Nebraska, and Las Vegas, as well as much of Kansas and southern New Mexico. This is being seen as part of the cable versus traditional telco war which is starting to take hold of the U.S. market.

Cox, which has 6 million customers, appears to be the only major cable company that is building its own mobile network right now.