Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) may have jumped out of the consumer device market by shutting down its Flip camera business earlier this year, but now it's putting renewed energy into its WiFi router business.
Mirroring its parent's move to reenergize its core routing business, Cisco's Home Networking Business Unit will retain its well-known Linksys WiFi router brand. But Cisco sees the WiFi router as potentially becoming the hub in the home network to support consumers' use of multimedia, especially video, over any device.
Brett Wingo, general manager of the business unit, said in an interview with PCWorld that today's home network can't support this scenario.
"What consumers want is, they want this problem solved," he said.
Having the ability to view their video in any room in the house is a message that's resonating with its customer AT&T (NYSE: T), which recently announced it worked with Cisco to develop a wireless receiver to distribute U-verse services throughout the home.
While WiFi may offer simplified home coverage, it's not going to completely replace established wireline-based home networking technologies such as home plug, MoCA and HomePNA. Given the diversity of homes in the U.S. and abroad, the more likely scenario is that WiFi will continue to be part of a broader set of tools service providers will use to help deliver multimedia services in the consumer home.
For more:
- PCWorld has this article
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