NetCologne and Cisco Showcase the Future of Broadband Entertainment at ANGA Cable 2008

COLOGNE, GERMANY — Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and regional telecommunications operator NetCologne are joining forces to bring broadband speeds up to 200 megabits per second (Mbps)* with live streaming of high-definition Internet Protocol (IP) video to the ANGA Cable trade fair. The ultra-high-speed service is delivered over NetCologne’s hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network using Euro-DOCSIS® 3.0 standard compliant technology from Cisco. Visitors to NetCologne’s and Cisco’s showcase will be able to experience the future in broadband entertainment services, with access to multiple live streams of high-definition video and lightning-fast downloading of multimedia content.

“We are demonstrating up to 200 Mbps today but we know that we can achieve double that bandwidth and more with Cisco’s solution over our existing HFC infrastructure,” said Guido Schwarzfeld, head of the broadband cable division at NetCologne. NetCologne’s goal is to harmonize the different types of infrastructure the company is providing. Through both HFC and Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) networks, NetCologne will initially offer its clients internet connections of up to 100 Mbps.

High-definition video streams will be delivered to the ANGA trade fair from a Cisco IP-centric video headend based on the Cisco® D9900 Digital Content Manager (DCM) which NetCologne has deployed to multicast IPTV programming content across its network to both cable and DSL subscribers, and will soon make available to FTTB customers as well. “The advantage of video over IP is that we can serve all our customers from a single headend, across all access technologies,” added Mr. Schwarzfeld. “It’s a new approach to pay-TV that will make the quality of experience consistent for our customers.”

For the demonstration, NetCologne is using a Cisco Euro-DOCSIS 3.0-compliant solution comprising the Cisco uBR10012 cable modem termination system (CMTS), Cisco edge QAM, Cisco DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems and Cisco Model IPP430MC IP set-top boxes.

“Global Internet traffic will grow to 26 exabytes per month by 2011, with video streams and downloads accounting for 70% of that traffic**,” said Michael Ganser, vice president and general manager, Cisco Germany. “Together with NetCologne, we have the opportunity to demonstrate a Cisco-based solution for next-generation broadband services that can give operators a valuable competitive edge by accelerating their speed to market for IPTV and high-speed data services.”

Cisco technologies currently deployed at NetCologne include an IP-centric video headend based on the D9900 DCM; uBR7200VXR CMTS, Prisma II™ Optoelectronic Platform and Compact Nodes and Amplifiers in the HFC network infrastructure and the ROSA Network Management System for monitoring, configuration and fault management.

* The maximum performance is derived from standards specifications using euro DOCSIS 3.0 4 channels modem. Actual performance could be less, based on network capacity, data throughput rate, range, environmental and local conditions and coverage. Performance depends on many factors, conditions and variables, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, operating system used, interference and other adverse conditions.

** From The Exabyte Era, a Cisco whitepaper on Internet Traffic Growth. (July 2007)