Cisco Uses Starent Buy to Expand Mobile Platform

Cisco’s $2.9 billion acquisition of Starent began to pay off Feb. 9, as the company announced it has expanded its ASR Series platforms with the introduction of the Cisco ASR 5000, the rebranded Starent ST40. Cisco has built upon the mobile data platform to create an end-to-end IP NGN (Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network).
According to Cisco, its latest mobile Internet network architecture increases network and customer intelligence and allows service providers to utilize Cisco networking expertise across any access, including 2G/3G/4G mobile network, from cell site to packet core to data center. With this new architecture, consumers should gain faster mobile Internet speeds and more seamless mobile multimedia experiences.
“As the demands from mobile users grow and their expectations increase, the need for intelligent traffic management, scale, performance and accurate reporting increases for service providers,” Ashraf Dahod, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Mobile Internet Technology Group, said in a statement. “We believe our IP NGN architecture and portfolio of mobile Internet solutions … are uniquely qualified to accelerate service providers’ ability to meet customer needs and grow their businesses.”
As if to underscore the importance the mobile data platform to the enterprise, the introduction of ASR 5000 comes on the same day Cisco released its annual Visual Networking Index, showing global mobile data traffic increased 160 percent in 2009 to 90 petabytes per month.
According to Cisco, annual global mobile data traffic will reach 3.6 exabytes per month. The report also notes that mobile data traffic today is growing today 2.4 times faster than global fixed broadband data traffic.
The Cisco ASR 5000 is purpose-built for the mobile network and is the centerpiece of the Cisco mobile Internet network architecture. Its portfolio of products spans mobile packet core, enhanced packet core, IP-RAN and Ethernet access, IP edge, IP core, and data center solutions. While decreasing operating and capital expenditures across the network, the Cisco IP NGN provides greater intelligence to enhance the user experience.
“The key to satisfying our customers is providing superior voice, data and multimedia services,” Ignacio Casado, network director of Vodafone Spain, said in a statement. “We look to Starent, now Cisco, as a trusted partner, providing key elements in our IP next-generation network that allows us to remain a leading provider of mobile broadband services.”