Cisco Systems announced major advancements in their Internet Protocol Next Generation Networks yesterday in the form of router enhancements and new products that will allow ISPs to go the next level of service for their customers.
The achievement in advancing Internet Protocol Next Generation Networks (IPNGN) is a major addition to the IPNGN architecture they introduced last year. This combined with major partnerships with ComCast and Sprint to develop IPNGNs for their services have created an exciting atmosphere at Cisco.
“Our momentum in the market is clearly demonstrated by these major customer announcements and the new and innovative IP NGN solutions we introduced today,” said Jeff Spagnola, vice president, Service Provider Marketing at Cisco. “But we recognize that the transformation of the networks and their business that our providers are pursuing requires continued innovation and collaboration on all fronts, including implementation, training and sales. To this end, we are firmly committed, are making the investment, and have the drive necessary to help our customers be successful.”
Service convergence or “triple play on the move” – where increased application and subscriber-level service control intelligence is needed to facilitate the efficient and profitable delivery of voice, video, data and mobility services for wireline and wireless convergence. To achieve true service convergence, providers must be able to operate, bill, and manage a service over a range of access mediums. Cisco and its partners have developed an open Service Exchange framework, which allows service providers to facilitate and control customer access and use IP services while placing no limit on the types of applications that can be deployed.
Availability of the new offerings will happen pretty quickly too. The XR12000 router, currently being considered by BellSouth will be available in June and runs for $45,000 list and upgrades starting at $12,500. The 7604 router will be available at the end of April and starts at $34,000 for the base configuration. The Cisco SPA and SIP solutions start at a list price of $2,500 and vary according to product models and supported platforms.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
