Cox Communications announced Wednesday that it has discontinued its wireless phone service after only a brief stint in the market.

Cox decided to end its 3G service because of competition from 4G networks and its inability to sell “iconic” wireless devices, referencing Apple’s iPhone that’s available to AT&T and Verizon customers.

The Atlanta-based company said it would stop selling Cox Wireless by Wednesday and continue providing service for its current wireless customers through March 2012.

“They went to Sprint for a resell deal and apparently the uptake has been really bad,” Andy Seybold, mobile computing consultant and founder of Andrew Seybold Inc., told Noozhawk. “If they’ve gotten half a percent of the Santa Barbara wireless community, I would be amazed.”

Earlier this year, Cox spent more than $500 million on wireless spectrum to build a nationwide mobile broadband network. After abandoning those plans in May, it decided to resell Sprint services and offer an all-in-one telecommunications bundle.

“The bottom line is the whole idea of bundling services has proven to be something that doesn’t attract customers,” said Seybold, adding that Cox entered a crowded market.

But Cox is still looking at several options to increase the value of its bundle services, said Len Barlik, Cox’s executive vice president of product development.

“I was not surprised (by the news),” Seybold said.

— Noozhawk business writer Alex Kacik can be reached at akacik@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.