Retail therapy
It looks like Cisco didn't get the memo that we're in a once-in-a-generation recession, because it's shopping like there's no tomorrow.
The latest proposed acquisition is of Starent Networks, which provides infrastructure and services to enable mobile broadband, for $2.9 billion. This comes hot on the heels of the $3 billion acquisition of video conferencing company Tandberg and recent smaller acquisitions like Pure Digital and Jabber.
Cisco has justified the acquisition by stating: "The Mobile Internet is at an inflection point as IP-enabled Smartphones and other connected mobile devices gain rapid acceptance. Service Providers have been actively investing in this market as global mobile data traffic is expected to more than double every year through 2013, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index."
This latest acquisition is apparently designed to make Cisco as central to the mobile Internet as it always has been to the wired one and fits into a broader strategy designed to position Cisco at the centre of 21st century communications.
"Combining Cisco's strength in Video and IP with Starent Networks' leading mobile infrastructure solutions, creates a compelling portfolio of products that provides an integrated architecture to offer rich, quality multimedia experiences to mobile subscribers on 3G and 4G networks," said Starent Networks President and CEO Ashraf Dahod.
