ZURICH, SWITZERLAND - July 3, 2002 - Cisco Systems is to supply Swisscom Mobile with its Cisco Mobile Office solution, which it will use to provide secure, broadband Wireless LAN Internet access to around 100 public locations (hot spots), including airports, railway stations, conference centres and hotels, throughout the country.
Cisco Mobile Office is a mobility solution that enables business professionals to have reliable and secure broadband access to the Internet -- on the move, at home, or at work. It combines a range of Cisco wired and wireless products and technologies, including Aironet Wireless Local Area Network WLAN, Long-Reach Ethernet (LRE), Building Broadband Service Manager (BBSM) software, and Cisco's Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology, which supports secure remote-access from numerous devices, such as a laptop or personal digital assistant (PDA).
Commenting on the project, John Mason, VP commercial segment, EMEA at Cisco Systems, said: "Like an increasing number of service providers, Swisscom Mobile has recognised the growing demand for, and revenue opportunities behind offering, high speed Internet access in public spaces. Cisco's Mobile Office provides secure, broadband access where and when it's required to meet the requirements of an increasingly mobile population."
Swisscom Mobile has already commenced a pilot scheme that includes around 20 hotspots. The commercial launch of the service is expected later this year and will include up to 100 public hotspots. Using Cisco's Mobile Office solution, business travellers will then be able to easily and securely connect to the Internet and their company networks at speeds of up to 2Mbit/s. Swisscom Mobile subscribers will be able to have PWLAN billed conveniently via their existing NATEL® subscription. Swisscom Mobile will offer alternative access to customers of other network providers and visitors from abroad.
Cisco is using its understanding of enterprise networks and IP technologies to help service providers drive their revenue growth through the development and deployment of new converged voice/data services based on IP. Cisco is also helping service providers to use the Internet to reduce operating expenses and drive the change in their culture required for successful delivery of these services to the market.
