Slashdot Mirror
Cisco Moving On Set-Top Boxes
nevermindme writes "Cisco has agreed to plunk down a whopping $6.9bn for Scientific-Atlanta, hoping to take a major share of the set-top-box market and push video efforts. The networking giant will pay $43 per share in cash for Scientific-Atlanta ($5.3bn) and swallow $1.6bn in debt. With the buy, Cisco acquires one of the more dominant set-top-box makers. In addition, it pushes well beyond the data center to touch consumers where they live."
What does Cisco bring to the table that nobody else does or can?
Maybe I'm a short-sighted idiot, but I thought Cisco did networking products. I guess if I saw them getting involved in the set-top box market, it would be in designing hardware to setup a background infrastructure for other set-top box makers.
So will I be able to buy a Set-top box with a DVR, cable modem, Wifi and Router capabilities?
Nice.
Ever hear of Linksys? Cisco bought them a while back. Lots of people have their stuff. Probably not as many as have cable, but it's still a substantial number of households.
Personally I think it's about time the Internet, Phone, TV, music, and movies all become condensed into one distribution system.
If I could, I'd destroy you all.
It has absolutely nothing to do with the purchase price of $43 per share, or 5.3B, other than the fact that the transaction will essentially be a 6.9B red mark on Cisco's balence sheet (minus SA's revenues).
Cisco is trying to do too much crap. All sorts of acquisitions over they years that are all over the product map. They're trying to be everything to everybody and the house is going to fall down. There's already backlash from people (customers and potential customers) that think they're too arrogant and disorganized.
Here is MSNBC coverage . Somewhat more info on the Cisco viewpoints.
The rock, the vulture, and the chain
This story is almost 24 hours old... Cisco most certainly wants to integrate itself into every part of digital data transmission. Since there are alot of people watching "digital tv" it is a sensible purchase.
? coid=52&ipid=821
Look at what else Cisco has done. They have a voip phone that integrates with Skype
http://www1.linksys.com/international/product.asp
If you get vonage, you often get a Cisco ATA box to turn your analog phone into a digital signal...
It is a great strategy for Cisco. They want to sell both parts of the package, the core routers for the Internet. DSL and cable modem concentrators for the central office. DSL and cable modems.
I wonder if they will keep the company name or roll them into Linksys as a consumer product. I also wonder how microsoft will react. They want to get a version of their OS on cable boxes.
Time will tell
I agree with the fact that Cisco is looking toward the conversion of data systems. Right now companies are offering cable TV, internet, and phone all through coax. In about 10 years from now, I predict that television entertainment will still exist, but it will evolve into something that cable carriers will stream into homes using their network connection to your home via coaxial connections, or via fiber. It makes perfect sense for Cisco to go into this market. it secures another market for them in the future, they can offer some of the equipment to make such the switch. And besides, who goes out to the store to buy a cable box? They're often provided by the cable companies themselves to be compatible (and expandable) with their existing infrastructure.
"10001110101 - periodic table with a centerpiece of mind" -Clutch
[Disclaimer: I am an S-A employee] Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola are the main players in the Hybrid Fiber-Coax (HFC) infrastructure that the entire cable industry, and thus all of cable-based broadband Internet runs on. With the telcos getting into this market (SBC and Verizon), there is going to be a huge shift in the cable TV industry over the next few years. Cisco and S-A together will have the capability to merge cable (which consists of IPTV, Video on demand, DVR's, real-time video compression and content management), VoIP, and traditional Internet together in a way that no other vendor will be positioned to do. The HFC networks are already IP-based and interactive services will leverage this even more going forward.
That would suck.
It'd give cable companies the perfect means of making sure they bill you for every PC you put on your network.
I'd like to keep my network seperate from theirs as much as possible, thank you very much.
- Cisco buys SA (Scientific Atlanta)h tml)s )v 04/11-30sigmadesignspr.mspx)p 05/09-08SigmaIBCPR.mspx)s /SBC04_IPTV.mspx)0 0&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=21772)
v -broadcasting-microsoft-cx_dl_0909autofacescan06.h tml?partner=yahootix
- Cisco recently bought danish company Kiss Technology - now part of the linksys division (Some of you might remember them as the first company coming out with a Mpeg4/Divx set top DVD player)
(http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2005/corp_072205.
- Kiss has a long standing relationship with chip maker Sigma Designs, Inc.
(http://www.google.com/search?q=Kiss+Sigma+Design
- Sigma and Microsoft are working together to enable Windows Media CE product, including Kiss products
(http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/no
- Sigma is working with Microsoft on their MSTV IPTV platform.
(http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/se
- SBC plans to release IPTV service using the MSTV platform.
(http://www.microsoft.com/tv/content/PressRelease
SBC will use Motorola and SA set top boxes for this (service.http://www.sbc.com/gen/press-room?pid=48
Obviously Cisco wants to be a player in the IPTV space.
This article is interresting also, cisco was not named, so they must have realized that their were getting out of the loop. Not anymore with the SA acquisition: http://www.forbes.com/facesinthenews/2005/09/09/t
Contrary to what seems like the opinion here seems to be, I think this makes perfect sense. Set-top boxes are really only a portion of the SA business. The rest is in cable networking components.
From network components to cable set-top does seem like a little bit of a jump, where buying up a company that makes cable networking equipment in general is right up Cisco's alley.
I used to work for the division of Philips that made commercial cable equipment (no longer in business.) A modern cable system is really a modern day addressable network.
My thinking is "wall-street" folks come in contact with the set-top boxes, so that's what they percieve the SA business to be all about.
-Pete
Soccer Goal Plans
I believe the article is wrong.. SFA has $1.6b in cash, not debt. CSCO will be paying $6.9b, but the effective price will be $5.3b since they will be acquiring the cash on SFA's balance sheet.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=SFA
Sagem is already making something like this in France, with an ISP called FREE.
You get 20 mbps, digital cable, Internet, phone, router functionality, Wi-Fi coverage, along with Ethernet and USB ports... VoD is almost here. The box is called a Freebox.
They added a few months ago something cool: you can stream media from your computer to the set-top box, which is plugged into a TV.
And you get all this digital goodness for something like $35 a month (30).
As quoted here:
Or here.