Bosch, Cisco team for broadband

Bosch Telecom and Cisco Systems have paired up to develop and market broadband wireless networking solutions, particularly local multipoint distribution service.

"We believe we can be first-if not, second-to market and win those cornerstone customers," said Tom McCabe, vice president of product management, strategic planning for Bosch.

The companies also feel they have other advantages. Bosch officials agree with some industry followers who say that strong business plans may be the missing link in the developing LMDS industry. McCabe suggested that about 20 of the 104 U.S. LMDS license winners have compelling reasons for offering service.

Bosch's involvement with the Canadian consortium Maxlink allowed it to be directly involved with developing a business model there. Based on this experience, Bosch officials believe the company can help license winners build a strategy around targeting small office/home office and multidwelling units first, eventually moving into the residential sector.

Although the market for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint products will likely unfold in North America first, South America and Western Europe should follow as the next significant markets, said Dale Smith, manager of multiservice wireless platforms for Cisco. McCabe expects 70% of his company's business to come from international markets with the smaller portion coming from the U.S.