Cisco bites into IDSL market Telesend acquisition propels networking power into race

With a single gulp, Cisco Systems Inc. has acquired technology that will let the networking heavyweight introduce digital subscriber line products into its product family.

Cisco has bought Telesend Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., and will integrate Telesend's ISDN DSL (IDSL) technology into its 90i wide area network access product. The 90i will provide carriers with a more cost-effective way to deliver high-speed data services for Internet and intranet access applications, Cisco said.

"This is going to allow the deployment of this technology everywhere," said Sayuri Sharper, president and chief executive officer of Telesend. "The user demand is definitely there, so all that is really needed is the ability to produce devices with an economy of scale that will lead to deployment.

The four-port 90i units will sell for about $600 per unit, or $150 per port, enabling carriers to deploy the technology quickly, Sharper said. "The speed of deployment will depend on how the carriers price their services, but we see the small office and telecommuter markets as being very ready to adopt this.

Cisco's move, which comes just weeks after rival Ascend Communications' IDSL products announcement, will give the San Jose-based Cisco the ability to leverage its carrier customers' installed copper base and its installed equipment.

"This approach will capitalize on the D4 channel banks that are already present in the network," said Kieran Taylor, broadband consultant at Verona, N.J.-based market research firm TeleChoice Inc. "This solution will enable mass IDSL deployment and could challenge dial as the access solution of choice in the next year or so.

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