Ericsson and Cisco plug in wireline deal

Ericsson and Cisco Systems have teamed up to develop a carrier class IP-based offering.

The two firms have signed a multi-year agreement designed to bring multi-service network products and services to market.

Core network systems developed and marketed by the firms, addressing both classic telephony and new multimedia services, will be built around Ericsson's Engine softswitch portfolio and Cisco's routing products.

The two companies will also develop a broadband access offering based on Public Ethernet over digital subscriber line (DSL), using Ericsson's IP-based DSL access multiplexer, Ericsson's IP Service Engine and Cisco's Ethernet Access Solutions and Ethernet switches.

"The worlds of telephony, data and multimedia communications continue to converge, and wireline carriers must deliver a wider variety of services and applications while minimising overall network costs," said Carl-Henric Svanberg, Ericsson's president and chief executive, in a statement.

And John Chambers, Cisco president and chief executive, added: "We see tremendous synergies between our visions of IP-based, multi-service networks and look forward to a mutually beneficial alliance."