Cisco has grown through acquisition as much as any other avenue. When they purchased LinkSys, the idea that the business networking giant would enter the home market was very much an open question. Cisco has always focused on business customers. It's their bread and butter.

The acquisition of Scientific-America, a premier developer of set-top boxes, introduced a new dimension. This new division of Cisco clearly adds value to the residential market. Look to see this device mature into a home gateway that supports voice and video as part of a comprehensive unified communications architecture.

As this story indicates, Cisco is indeed broadening their scope as they move toward a comprehensive, unified communications gateway device.

Cisco: Do-it-All Gateway on the Way

Scientific-Atlanta Inc. , the newly minted division of Cisco Systems Inc.  (Nasdaq: CSCO - message board), is preparing a do-it-all residential gateway product that it plans to release later this year.

The product will be outfitted with a 4-port Ethernet switch/router, two lines of SIP-based VOIP, an 802.11g WiFi access point, as well as the HPNA home networking standard for coax cable, according to the company. The company is shooting for a late third quarter launch date, says David Alsobrook, Director of Video Products for IP Subscriber Networks at Scientific-Atlanta.

Scientific-Atlanta is more famous for its set-top boxes but sees the home gateway assuming greater importance in the “connected home” network. (See SA Unveils Set-Tops.) Cisco originally acquired Scientific-Atlanta with an eye toward making a grand entrance into the home networking space.

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