“Video is emerging as the key strategic application in the service provider triple play bundle of consumer entertainment, communication and online services,” said John Chambers, president and chief executive officer of Cisco Systems. “The combination of Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta brings unmatched experience and innovation in delivering large scale video systems and networks, and the addition of Scientific-Atlanta further extends Cisco’s commitment to and leadership in the service provider market. Moreover, Cisco’s international presence and IP leadership will also create strategic synergies that accelerate the combined growth opportunity.”
Chambers continued, “As consumers demand more sophisticated information and entertainment services in their home, tightly coupled applications, devices and networks will be essential. The collective strength of Linksys and Scientific-Atlanta will extend Cisco’s leadership position across the entire networked digital home.”
“We believe that this combination of Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta will benefit our shareholders, our customers and our employees,” said Jim McDonald, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Scientific-Atlanta. “The combined strengths and resources of our two companies will position us to address more quickly the growing number of opportunities in the markets we serve and enable us to create new products and services that might not have existed otherwise.”
Scientific-Atlanta has platforms and technologies that enable scaling to millions of subscribers quickly and easily. This, along with the Cisco IP Next Generation Network architecture, will offer providers an open platform for service differentiation, allowing them to move beyond video/IPTV to develop and deliver a variety of integrated media services in the connected home.