Cisco lands SBC backbone contract

SANTA CLARA--Cisco Systems said today that it would provide its 12000 series routers to SBC Communications for the carrier’s buildout of its national backbone network.

The product line gives SBC the ability to send data at the OC-192 (10 Gbps) level. The backbone will be used by SBC to transport most of its Internet services including dedicated access and SBC’s co-branded DSL and dial-up service with Yahoo!.

Neither company would discus specifics of the deal, but it comes just one day after Cisco opened its annual analyst meeting with a heavy emphasis on the carrier market.

The company, which has seen its carrier sales shrink to just 10% of its overall revenue, said at its conference here that it will pump up to $10 billion into R&D and assorted other research in the carrier market over the next five years.

“That should lay to rest any concerns that people have about whether Cisco is serious about the service provider market,” said Charlie Giancarlo, senior vice president and general manager of product development for Cisco.