News Release

Cisco Unveils GlobalDSL Strategy to Help Service Providers Worldwide Achieve True Market and Service Potential of Exploding Broadband Access Industry

Three-Part Strategy Introduces IP DSL Switching across Cisco 6000 Platform and Helps Service Providers Increase Revenue with Delivery of DSL to Any User in Any Place with Any Service
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Apr 18, 2000

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 18, 2000 - Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today announced its GlobalDSL strategy to help service providers achieve the true market and service potential of DSL-based broadband access. The Cisco GlobalDSL strategy allows service providers to increase revenue by expanding their addressable market and delivering a broader, richer set of value-added service offerings. The strategy is designed to open up new broadband opportunities for service providers by overcoming barriers to DSL deployment in three key areas: IP+ATM Multi-service Solutions, 100% Market and Service Reach, and DSL Mobility.

"The DSL market has the potential to be on a much steeper growth path," said Enzo Signore, Director of DSL Marketing for the Cisco DSL and Integrated Access Business Unit. "The total access market - including dial, ISDN, cable, DSL and wireless - is forecasted to have over 50 million subscribers in North America alone by the year 2003. The DSL market is predicted to have around 10 million subscribers in the same timeframe. By overcoming obstacles that have impeded the widespread growth of DSL, the Cisco GlobalDSL strategy will enable service providers to more quickly and broadly deploy high-speed services over DSL, and will make DSL one of the most widespread access technologies in the market. "

"Cisco's GlobalDSL strategy offers clear benefits to service providers worldwide, not just in the way of services and reach, but also in scale," said Ron Westfall, Senior Analyst at Current Analysis, a leading industry analyst research firm. "The GlobalDSL strategy puts Cisco in a position to be the major catalyst for a DSL mass market."

IP DSL Switching - Foundation for Cisco GlobalDSL Strategy

The foundation for the Cisco GlobalDSL strategy is IP DSL Switching, which was introduced today across the entire Cisco 6000 DSL family. Powered by Cisco IOS. software, the Cisco 6000 IP DSL Switch family allows service providers to deploy a new caliber of premium, managed IP+ATM data, voice and video services - for business and consumer applications - over a single, flexible, cost-effective access network. This breakthrough platform is a revolutionary step above and beyond the ATM-based "smart" DSLAMs and the ATM- or frame-based "dumb" DSLAMs being deployed today.

(Note to Editors: More information on the Cisco 6000 IP DSL Switch family can be found in a press release that was issue today entitled "Cisco Introduces IP DSL Switching across Cisco 6000 DSL Family.")

Cisco GlobalDSL - Three-Part Strategy for Achieving Market and Service Growth

The Cisco GlobalDSL strategy is designed to address barriers to DSL deployment in three key areas:

  • IP+ATM Multi-Service Solutions - As high-speed Internet access becomes commoditized, service providers need to increase their portfolio of broadband DSL services in order to retain customers. The Cisco 6000 IP DSL Switch family enables service providers to differentiate themselves competitively and increase customer loyalty and revenue by delivering the industry's broadest, most feature-rich set of managed IP+ATM multi-service applications, including MPLS-based virtual private networks (VPNs), secure firewalls, multicast video, webcaching, and voice for business and consumer entertainment applications.

  • 100% Market and Service Reach - Currently, the DSL subscriber market is largely under-served because of distance barriers from the central office, or in the case of the MTU and remote terminal markets, lack of the right equipment to deploy premium, value-added services. Cisco is enabling service providers to overcome market and service reach barriers to extend value-added IP+ATM multi-service applications to virtually 100% of the addressable DSL market with the introduction today of the Cisco 6015 IP DSL Switch and G.shdsl technology on Cisco 6000 family products.

    (Note to Editors: More details on the Cisco 6015 IP DSL Switch and G.shdsl technology can be found in a press release issued today entitled, "Cisco Launches Breakthrough 6015 IP DSL Switch for Multi-Tenant Units and Remote Terminals; Adds Repeatable G.shdsl Technology to Cisco 6000 IP DSL Switches.")

  • DSL Mobility - Today's DSL services are typically offered to residences and businesses, but end-users cannot yet widely enjoy the benefits of broadband when traveling or connecting from other locations with, for example, a portable computer. The DSL market will quickly expand once DSL becomes as ubiquitous and easy to provision as dial access, and that is the focus of the DSL Mobility part of the GlobalDSL strategy. Requirements important to this part of the strategy include: follow-me services; web-based on-demand service selection; end-user self-installable customer premise equipment (CPE); retail distribution; retail-grade interoperability; and automated end-to-end mass-market provisioning.

Cisco is leading the way on many of the key requirements for DSL Mobility and is actively working with its service provider customers and third-party companies to deliver on all of the requirements. Details will be provided in future announcements.

"If DSL is to be a mass market, mobility is key," said Curtis Price, Program Director at Stratecast Partners, a leading industry analyst firm. "DSL has to possess the characteristics that have made dial access so ubiquitous. With its GlobalDSL strategy, Cisco is taking an active role in addressing the right criteria for making DSL mobility happen."

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