Cisco to kill off Linksys brand

Networking firm Cisco is planning to kill off the Linksys name as it brings its entire range of products under its own brand.

Chief executive John Chambers told European press that the use of the Linksys brand for its consumer routers and networking kit had reached its "end of life" .

"In terms of the evolution of the branding it will all come, over time, into a Cisco brand," he said.

Chambers revealed that Cisco had only kept the Linksys brand alive for so long because it was well known in the US. "As you go global there is very little advantage in that," he said.

Cisco bought Linksys in 2003 for $500m as a way of breaking into the consumer marketplace.

Chambers said that the move signals a general overhaul of Cisco's brand. "We have changed everything in terms of our logo and our mark, and how we want to be viewed, from the ease of use of our products to differentiation," he said.