Consumer

Consumer:-

   A strategy is announced by Cisco System to expand its leadership to consumer market. The vision of the strategy is to extend high-speed internet access from business to the consumer market at speeds up to 1,000 times faster than today's dial-up connections. Cisco is also planning to introduce high-speed personal networks within the home, connecting individual users to PCs, phones, TVs and other Internet appliances over a single broadband network (Cisco, n.d.).

"The Internet revolution was started by big businesses who understood that the Internet had the power to re-define and re-create the competitive landscape. Today, consumers are the driving force in the Internet Revolution," said John T. Chambers's president and CEO of Cisco Systems. "In the Internet Economy, everyone and everything will be connected (Cisco, 1999). Chambers announced that Cisco has formed a Consumer Line of Business to implement its personal networks strategy which states that Vice President and General Manager Robber Benjamin are going to be the head (Cisco, 1999).

"Cisco's consumer strategy will have three key elements," Benjamin said. "First, we will help service providers build high-speed connections to the home and other locations where consumers access the Internet. Second, we will license technology that will help develop network-enabled services and applications that provide unique value to consumers. Finally, we will partner with companies in all sectors of the marketplace (Cisco, 1999).

   The New World network will combine Internet, phone and video services over a single cable line, fundamentally changing the way communications services are delivered to consumers. The network build-out also represents the first major deployment of phone services over an Internet-based infrastructure, using cable lines as the transmission vehicle (Cisco, 1999). Cisco announced wide support for its consumer strategy from more than 30 service providers and consumer electronics companies, each sharing Cisco's vision to extend high-speed Internet access from business to the consumer market (Cisco, 1999).

Cisco also announced plans to introduce a new type of personalized network for the home, a sort of plug-and-play local area network, connecting PCs, phones, TVs and other Internet appliances. Cisco also introduced a voice-enabled cable modem at CES, which will allow consumers to get phone service from their cable company, in addition to high-speed Internet access and television service. These personal networks begin to place the foundation for Cisco's long-term vision to turn the Internet into the next mass medium, eventually connecting everyone to everything (Cisco, 1999).

Cisco's new consumer program intends to allow service providers to generate additional revenue from new broadband Internet access services needed for a networked home, at the same time, consumer equipment manufacturers will generate additional revenue through the development of new, high-speed Internet-enabled devices (Cisco, n.d.). Cisco will continue to work closely with service providers to facilitate the development of New World data, voice and video services, and also to partner with consumer electronics companies to develop integrated Internet, phone and video devices (Cisco, 1999).