Cisco And Motorola To Form Strategic Alliance To Build Internet-Based Wireless Networks

Business Wire, Feb 8, 1999

NEW ORLEANS, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 1999--

Anytime, Anywhere Access To A New World

Of Combined Internet, Voice and Video Wireless Services

Cisco Systems Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, and Motorola Inc., the worldwide pioneer in wireless communications for nearly 70 years, announced today the first phase of a strategic alliance to develop and deliver a New World framework for Internet-based, wireless networks. This collaboration will deliver the first all-IP platform for the wireless industry, which will unite different standards for wireless services worldwide, and introduce an open Internet-based platform for integrated data, voice and video services over cellular networks.

Cisco and Motorola plan to jointly invest as much as $1 billion over four to five years to deliver a wireless Internet. Both companies plan to cross-license technology and develop complementary products. Additionally, the companies plan to establish four Internet Solutions Centers worldwide to drive innovation within the wireless industry and encourage third-party companies to develop and create new services and products based on open Internet standards.

"The Motorola/Cisco alliance will be the final piece to fully utilize the IP framework with the packetized voice and data network we and Motorola incorporated into the iDEN(R) system at its inception," said Craig O. McCaw, renowned industry leader.

"We have discussed the Motorola/Cisco IP architecture and believe that it has great promise and are interested in acting as a potential test bed," said Keith Paglusch, senior vice president of Technical Services and Network Operations for Sprint PCS. "Anything that reduces network operating costs, provides for more efficient transport, or adds additional functionality to the network is very much in line with our strategic focus," Paglusch said. Other industry leaders such as Cellnet, Nextel and AirTouch also have voiced support for this new effort.

Both companies plan to jump-start a new category of advanced products and services by broadcasting IP signals over the air. The idea is to unite the convenience and mobility of wireless devices with the power to access large amounts of information from the Internet. Imagine one wireless Internet, broadcasting integrated data, voice and video communications anytime and anywhere. For example: sales forces using portable devices to securely access updated customer information from company networks; commuters using cell phones to safely send and receive audio email; or publishers and broadcasters delivering data, audio and video stories to subscribers on-demand, whether it's a cable sports channel, or a local broadcast of your high school daughter's basketball game.

"Cisco and Motorola are bringing a New World Internet platform to the wireless industry," said Don Listwin, executive vice president, Cisco Systems. "This extends the Internet to a world without wires, and represents the first major deployment of integrated data, voice and video services under an Internet-based cellular infrastructure."

"This alliance gives us precisely the right mix of innovation and creativity at exactly the right time to launch the convergence of wireless and the Internet, the two most powerful communication technologies known to mankind," said Bo Hedfors, Motorola, Inc. senior vice president and president of the Network Solutions Sector. "Our architectural breakthrough will create a new market and will radically change the industry as we know it today," Hedfors added.

This announcement is based upon a memorandum of understanding both companies signed on February 3, 1999. Definitive agreements will be completed shortly.

Next Generation Internet-Based Wireless Network

The two companies are uniquely positioned to lead an orderly migration from circuit- based networks to Internet-based, wireless networks. Operators and service providers, for example, will be able to offer bundled data, voice and video services over an all IP- based platform. This means they can look forward to a stronger competitive position in a rapidly changing communications landscape.

The architecture vision that Motorola and Cisco share today is an open Internet-based framework, intended to work across all wireless standards such as (GSM - Global System for Mobile Communication; CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access; TDMA Time Division Multiple Access, etc.). As a result, wireless devices will work anytime and anywhere worldwide. In addition, the architecture is open to everyone who wants to be a developer, provider or user of integrated data, voice and video services over wireless networks.

Examples include:

Enterprise Virtual Private Networks (VPN) based upon wireless, IP-based technology, will naturally extend the ubiquitous nature of Intranets over wide-area links, to remote offices, mobile users, and telecommuters. For example, an employee traveling in a remote region of the world will have seamless access to the corporate Intranet without the need for wires.