Network Collaboration Will Provide Sprint Customers with Cost-Effective Access to Powerful High-Speed Communications Services
KANSAS CITY, MO, -- January 26, 1999 -- Sprint and Cisco Systems, Inc.(NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced that Sprint has selected Cisco as its primary supplier of DSL technology for building out "last mile" broadband access solutions to its next-generation Sprint ION(SM), Integrated On-Demand Network, and for DSL-based services for customers of Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division (LTD), beginning in 1999. Today's announcement builds on an existing agreement between the two companies whereby Cisco will provide technology at the heart and edge of Sprint ION.
"Our collaboration with Cisco on end-to-end networking solutions plays an important role in Sprint's delivery of cost-effective access to new communications services through Sprint ION and in delivery of new high-speed data services to local customers," said Will Prout, Senior Vice President for Sprint's Broadband Local Networks unit.
Sprint ION is the innovative new network that will enable Sprint to consolidate a business' disparate networks and to provide homes and businesses with virtually unlimited bandwidth over a single, always-on connection, delivering simultaneous voice, video calls and data services.
"Sprint has fully embraced the New World vision of data, voice and video convergence into a single network," said David Gudmundson, Vice President and General Manager of Cisco's DSL and Systems Software Business Unit. "By providing high-speed DSL solutions as part of their broadband strategy, they create new revenue opportunities for themselves while delivering a broad choice of Internet and voice services to businesses and consumers."
Sprint's Broadband Local Networks unit will begin widely deploying Cisco 6100 series advanced Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers (DSLAMs) in central offices throughout major markets this year. As part of the Sprint ION strategy, Sprint will outfit 1,000 central offices with Cisco 6100 series units by early 2000, ultimately spanning more than 1,600 central offices.
Cisco 600 series DSL routers and PCI modems, combined with Cisco voice-enabled customer premises equipment (CPE) will be used to connect customers to Sprint ION high-speed data services.
As a member of Cisco's DSL central office portfolio, the Cisco 6100 series advanced DSLAM is designed to support Quality of Service and allow carriers to offer differentiated, high-bandwidth services to both the business and consumer markets. Support of existing and future DSL standards, such as DMT Issue 2, G.lite and HDSL-2 ensures that carriers can take advantage of technology available today with assurance that the products will support their plans for future growth. This flexibility and scalability allows service providers to lower their cost of DSL deployment, while increasing revenues by offering higher margin services to multiple markets.
Cisco's DSL customer premise equipment (CPE) product line enables service providers to deliver cost-effective solutions for businesses and consumers. The product line offers scalable data rates from as low as 32 kbps up to 8.1 Mbps.
About Sprint
Sprint is a global communications company - at the forefront in integrating long distance local and wireless communications services - and one of the world's largest carriers of Internet traffic. Sprint built and operates the United States' only nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and is the leader in advanced data communications services. Sprint has $15 billion in annual revenues and serves more than 16 million business and residential customers.Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet.Cisco, Cisco IOS, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the US and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
