Nothing like a little collaboration giant-to-giant>
Cisco Systems and General Instrument to Work With AT&T on High Speed Internet Access Network; Cisco and GI to Develop and Trial Integrated IP Broadband Networking Solutions
HORSHAM, Pa. and SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) and General Instrument Corporation (NYSE: GIC) announced today that they intend to work with AT&T on a non-exclusive basis to develop and trial a seamless, end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) solution that would allow AT&T to offer data, voice and video
services over the hybrid fiber-coax network now being deployed
by AT&T and TCI.
Although specific agreements have not been reached, the
Cisco/GI IP telephony solution under development would allow
AT&T to offer its customers the ability to simultaneously watch
television, send and receive faxes, surf the World Wide Web and
talk on the telephone.
"Cisco's collaboration with AT&T and GI will result in a New World
network that will fundamentally change the way communications
services are delivered to the consumer market," said John
Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco Systems, Inc. "By
combining broadband Internet, phone and video services over a
single cable line, we are taking a major step towards implementing
future integrated data, voice and video telecommunications on a
mass market scale."
"The HFC IP telephony system being developed by GI and Cisco
will establish the benchmark for integrated broadband service
platforms, leading the way for the industry. We are extremely
pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Cisco and AT&T
on this groundbreaking project," said Edward Breen, chairman and
chief executive officer of General Instrument.
The proposed AT&T broadband network would combine advanced
networking and Voice-over-IP (VoIP) technologies to enable
cost-effective delivery of consumer services while streamlining
operational demands. Using broadband packet technologies, data,
voice and video services that traditionally required construction of
multiple parallel legacy networks would be delivered using one
integrated high-speed infrastructure.
The IP backbone, as proposed by Cisco and GI, would contain the
Cisco 12000 Gigabit Switch Router (GSR), a multi-gigabit,
carrier-class, IP backbone router, and the Universal Broadband
Router (uBR), a cost-effective, scalable interface between
subscriber cable modems and the backbone data network. The
packet telephony gateways would be based on the Cisco AS5X00,
voice-over-IP gateway servers.
Cisco, with cooperation from Cisco partners, proposes to deliver
management, call processing and provisioning/activation solutions
used in the AT&T deployment. This combination of leading
Internet technologies from Cisco and best-of-breed partners
would enable a suite of advanced services that will be more
efficient to manage, have greater application flexibility, and lower
costs for the end user.
The primary gateway to the next-generation network would be
GI's DCT-5000+ advanced consumer digital in-home terminal. The
DCT-5000+ capability to serve as an interactive gateway to this
advanced consumer network allows video entertainment, IP-based
telephone and high-speed data services to be delivered
simultaneously to the home with superior all-digital quality.
In the proposed architecture, GI's suite of industry-standard
Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) solutions would also be
integrated into AT&T's network. GI's CPE solutions include
stand-alone Broadband Telephony Interface (BTI) terminals and
integrated BTI solutions for the SURFboard(R) high-speed cable
modem and the DCT-5000+ advanced set-top terminal. By
integrating the set-top terminal, cable modem and BTI into one
system, this platform offers a more cost-effective alternative to
traditional circuit-switched telephony systems.
As development efforts move forward, the three companies
currently plan to conduct a market trial expected to begin in late
1999, with an objective of moving toward commercial availability
next year.
About General Instrument
General Instrument is a leading worldwide provider of integrated
and interactive broadband access solutions, teaming with its
business partners to lead the convergence of the Internet,
telecommunications, and video entertainment industries. Visit
General Instrument at our Web Site - gi.com
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in
networking for the Internet. News and information are available at
cisco.com.
Note: Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are
registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and
certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this
document are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE General Instrument Corporation
/CONTACT: Press, Sharon Corbitt, Director, Communications 215-323-1873,
or e-mail, scorbitt@gi.com, or Dario Santana, VP, Investor Relations,
215-323-1213, or e-mail, dsantana@gi.com, both of General Instrument; or
Press, Erin Bergamo, Public Relations Manager, 408-527-0600, or e-mail,
ebergamo@cisco.com, or Randi Feigin, Investor Relations, 408-527-1099, or
e-mail, rfeigin@cisco.com, both of Cisco Systems/
/Web site: cisco.com
/Web site: gi.com
(GIC CSCO T)
[Copyright 1999, PR Newswire] |
