Cisco Enables Broadband Access in Hotels, Apartments and Campuses with First Comprehensive Building Broadband Solution

ORLANDO, Florida (HITEC Booth #765) June 26, 2001 Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, today announced the first comprehensive solution to enable the deployment of high-speed broadband connectivity services to multi-unit buildings (MxUs). Creating new revenue opportunities for service providers and MxU owners, these services include Internet access, VPN/corporate access, voice and multimedia over IP networks.

For the first time, hotel, property management and campus organizations can come to a single company, Cisco Systems, to obtain all the elements required for broadband:

Best-in-class networking infrastructure - including the industry's widest range of Ethernet-based products, Long-Reach Ethernet, wireless Ethernet, Fast/Gigabit Ethernet
Cisco Building Broadband Service Manager (BBSM) - based on the most widely deployed in-building service creation platform
Cisco Total Implementation Package - New in-depth training and best practices curriculum designed specifically for multi-unit building deployment
Cisco Building Broadband Alliances - Industry-leading system integrators and service providers trained and certified to accelerate the adoption and speed of deployments to the MxU market - Getronics, Hewlett-Packard Company, NCR and Unisys

"The multi-unit market presents carriers with strong growth opportunities. There are over 22 million U.S. households that reside in residential multiple dwelling units (MDUs) and on average they spend over $130 per month on voice, video and Internet access," said Imran Khan, Senior Analyst of the Yankee Group. "The hospitality industry, which is comprised of nearly 4 million guest rooms across the U.S., further contributes to greater multi-unit broadband revenue potential as business travelers continue to demand faster, secure access to corporate networks."

"Our objective is to eliminate the risks and barriers that have been arresting the progress of broadband deployment in MxU buildings," said Steve Nye, General Manager of Cisco's Building Broadband Solutions Unit. "With a comprehensive, easy-to-provision networking solution, a comprehensive training effort and a ready set of top-tier building broadband alliances to assist our customers with deployment, we believe the hospitality industry is poised to take off."

Among the first to take advantage of Cisco's complete offering is Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc., who have begun deployment of Cisco's networking solutions. The key components of this solution include Cisco Long-Reach Ethernet, Cisco Building Broadband Service Manager and the Cisco Aironet Family Series of wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) products.

"We are pleased with the progress of our pilot program at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers," said Carl Cohen, Vice President of broadband business for Starwood. "Recognizing that broadband-based services will become important to the guest experience, we selected Cisco's building broadband solution to provide the latest in technology innovation to our Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, St. Regis/Luxury Collection and W Hotel properties."

Building Broadband Service Manager: The Heart of the In-Building Network

Cisco Building Broadband Service Manager 5.0 (BBSM) is a highly automated service creation platform that enables simple, plug-and-play guest and meeting room access, end user self-provisioning of services, customizable portal and advertising platforms and Web-based management, reporting and configuration. The Cisco BBSM platform enables property owners and service providers to create tiered service levels in order to deliver targeted customer offerings. For instance, a hotel can set-up daily network access for a series of meetings providing a variety of bandwidth/pricing options and voice/video capabilities; this allows hotels to capture lucrative meeting room revenue opportunities. The server-based software supports multiple automated authentication and billing options, including credit card, RADIUS, property management system and access code.

Building Broadband Alliances & Total Implementation Package: Reducing Risk in Deploying Building Broadband Networks

Today, Cisco also announced alliances with Getronics, HP, NCR and Unisys to assist with all stages of building broadband deployment. These companies have been qualified and trained by Cisco to provide the expertise and resources required to rapidly deploy solutions in hotels and other building locations.

The Cisco Total Implementation Package (TIP) provides building broadband companies with the industry's first set of comprehensive training and proven best practices that allow for the rapid, smooth deployment of broadband services at reduced costs. Derived from Cisco's experience in more than 1,500 Building Broadband deployments, TIP reduces operational risk and eases subscriber and service provisioning, while creating competitive advantage for service providers and system integrators. TIP provides the critical base of deployment tools and template materials to take companies from planning, design and installation through operations and ongoing support. Key elements include: network designs, site survey templates, reference architectures, checklists and other tools.

Total Customer Services and Support

Cisco provides services and support throughout the entire life-cycle of a network -- from planning, design and implementation, to operational and optimization consultative support. Services for Cisco's building broadband solution are delivered both directly and through its best-of-breed partners. Cisco enables its partners to deliver rapid deployment services by providing knowledge transfer, methodologies and best practices. Time-sensitive operational support is provided via the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or by Cisco-enabled partners.

Cisco Internet Mobile Office

Also today, Cisco is expanding its Cisco Internet Mobile Office program with the addition of GRIC and NCR. This global program is focused on promoting secure, standards-based broadband Internet access in public spaces such as hotels. For details, please refer to press release entitled "Cisco Systems Teams with GRIC and NCR to Deliver Global Broadband Roaming Solutions Worldwide." For more information please visit www.cisco.com/go/mobileoffice.

Pricing and Availability

All products are available immediately with US list pricing as follows:

Building Broadband Service Manager Server with 96 Port Licenses: US$ 11,500
Building Broadband Service Manager on CD with 96 Port Licenses: US$ 7,000
Additional 24 Port License Pack: US$ 600

Cisco provides TIP training and materials free of charge for a limited time. To learn more about the program or to become a part of the Cisco Building Broadband Alliance, please send an email to tipprogram@cisco.com.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information are available at http://www.cisco.com.

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