Seoul, Korea - April 15, 2009 - Cisco today announced an initiative to increase productivity and foster innovation in Korea and to set the agenda for intelligent urbanisation during Chairman and CEO John Chambers' visit to the country this week. Cisco's Intelligent Urbanisation initiative was recently launched to help cities around the world use the network as the next utility for integrated city management, a better quality of life for citizens, and economic development.

Cisco outlined how the network as the platform is key to driving national productivity in Korea and to transforming industry, government and society. Specifically, Mr. Chambers described how Cisco is working with the Incheon Metropolitan City to help the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) accomplish the vision of intelligent urbanisation.

The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) is Korea's first government-endorsed Free Economic Zone designated in August 2003. Cisco and Incheon Metropolitan City have already exchanged a Business Collaboration Memorandum on mutual collaboration for IFEZ in February 2009. Hence, today's announcement is a further step to confirm and enhance their cooperation.

Incheon intends to draw on Cisco's global strength in technology and its skill sets to drive network-enabled innovation in IFEZ. Based on an advanced networking infrastructure, Cisco will help IFEZ drive better city management, enhanced quality of life for citizens, and support sustainable economic development.

Cisco and Incheon will also explore various investment options that help enable the delivery of ubiquitous information and communication technology services within IFEZ. To this end, Cisco and Incheon will each assign a team of skilled professionals to review and validate these investment options, and to develop appropriate service concepts and strategies, a technology architecture, and detailed business and operating models for IFEZ.

This is another step toward the commitment of Cisco and Incheon Metropolitan City toward intelligent urbanisation and to mutually collaborate to transform the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) into a center of globalisation expertise in Asia Pacific. The model will be partly based on Cisco's previous globalisation projects in major cities in Singapore, India, Malaysia and the Middle East.

Cisco will also conduct a meeting with the senior management of Incheon's finance and business development organization to review Incheon's business plans as well as master plans, and civil drawings for the IFEZ.

Wim Elfrink, Cisco's chief globalisation officer and the executive vice president for Cisco Services, said: "Cisco and Incheon share a common belief that the use of the network as the platform is vital to prosperity and economic growth of nations and industries. Cisco will support Incheon to gain the maximum benefit from the network as an important enabler of innovation, sustainability and intelligent urbanisation."

About IFEZ

IFEZ, which was designated as Korea's first Free Economic Zone by the Government in August 2003, pursues diverse projects to develop Incheon as an international city that fully supports a wide range of economic activities. IFEZ is securing the foundation to be a leading international city by 2010 with the aim of being the best place, not only in Korea but also in the world, for companies to do business as well as providing an eco-friendly city for its residents.