Cox Communications has partnered with Sprint Nextel to add cell phone service to its offerings in Rhode Island.

Cox this week launched “Pivot,” a new wireless service that lets Cox customers access their home voice mail from their cell phone. And it also allows customers to watch a handful of live television channels on certain Sprint cell phones.

Cox, along with other major cable operators in the Unites States, formed a joint venture with Sprint in 2005 to offer cell phone service. The cable operators have been seeking ways to better compete with incumbent telephone companies, such as Verizon, which are starting to enter the cable TV business.

The Pivot service is similar to Sprint’s own wireless service. But a Cox customer can set up Pivot to send a text message to the wireless phone anytime a voice mail is left on the customer’s home phone. The customer can also retrieve the home-phone voice mail message from the cell phone.

Customers can also have phone calls to their home phones automatically forwarded to their cell phones, or vice versa. There are no additional charges for forwarding.

Like Sprint’s own wireless service, Pivot customers can also watch streaming video on the small cell phone screen. But Pivot users will see only the channels that Cox has negotiated the rights to broadcast to cell phones, according to Cox. The content available on the cell phone does not necessarily correspond to Cox’s cable channel lineup.

Right now, there are only a handful of channels, including Fox News, ABC News and the Weather Channel. There are also several music channels as well.

Another feature allows customers to view channel listings for their cable service. Eventually, Cox will add the ability to program a customer’s home digital video recorder from the cell phone, the company said.

And like other wireless services, Pivot customers can access their e-mail and view certain Web sites that have been designed especially for the small screens found on mobile devices, such as cell phones.

Cox plans to add additional channels, including some that have local information, said Joan Lawlor, a product manager for Cox. The company is looking into offering the Rhode Island News Channel, which is a continuously repeating news broadcast produced by WLNE Channel 6 that’s now available only on Cox’s cable system.

Cox offers two types of plans. Pivot voice-only plans start at $29.99 a month, with the ability to add on other features, such as TV or music streaming, or a navigation feature, for additional charges.

Pivot Plus, which includes all those features, plus e-mail and Web access, starts at $44.95 a month.

Lawlor said that Cox will provide a single bill that will include charges for the Pivot service, cable TV, telephone and Internet access. However, the company is not offering any additional discount to customers who subscribe to all four services, she said. That is something Cox is still considering, she said.

The phones start at $29, after rebates, if a customer agrees to a two-year contract. They are available at Cox retail locations, as well as Sprint corporate cell phone stores.

tbarmann@projo.com