Cisco to Phase Out Scientific Atlanta Name

Todd Spangler (2.5.07)
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6412207.html?display=Breaking+News

Cisco Systems plans to rebrand all the products under its Scientific Atlanta subsidiary with the Cisco name within the next year.


Initially, Cisco is putting the parent company’s name on Internet-protocol-TV set-tops, but it will eventually rebrand all of SA’s lines as Cisco products -- a process likely to happen in the next 9-12 months, said Wilson Craig, manager of public relations for Cisco’s service-provider segment.

Cisco hasn’t determined yet whether SA will continue to operate as a subsidiary after the rebranding process is completed or whether it will be merged into Cisco’s service-provider unit, SA director of PR Sara Stutzenstein said.

Cisco completed its $6.9 billion acquisition of SA -- which has been one of the cable industry’s top equipment suppliers for three decades -- in February 2006. SA posted $584 million in sales for the quarter ended Oct. 28, 2006.

Cisco inks key rural IPTV deal

Ed Gubbins (2.5.07)

http://telephonyonline.com/independent/news/telecom_cisco_inks_key/

Cisco Systems is vying to become a one-stop shop for rural telcos planning to offer IPTV.

The vendor announced a partnership this week with SES Americom, the satellite video provider that will supply rural telcos with prepackaged video content through a unique deal with the National Rural Telephone Cooperative. Cisco will act as a chief infrastructure supplier and integrator for customers of that offering.

In recent months, Cisco has also voiced an interest in becoming a more intimate strategic partner to carriers, convincing them to standardize their networks on Cisco architecture.

Cisco says it's willing to use other vendors' gear in some cases if individual customers want it. And it will offer two choices of middleware providers: NDS and Siemens. Although VOD is not yet a part of the IP-Prime offering, Cisco expressed an interest in adding its own VOD offerings to the mix in time.