Cisco Enters the Cable Service Arena with its Connected Life at Home Initiative
In spring 2009, Cisco announced Connected Life at Home, an initiative that pairs Cisco with several cable service providers and includes what it calls a "medianet." A new set-top box, the Explorer 8600 HDR, and an ultimate vision of optimizing service provider networks for rich media have impressed industry experts and analysts.
In fact, CurrentAnalysis.com analyst Ron Wesfall expressed a "very positive" current perspective on Cisco's move to advance the so-called medianet concept, saying that, "The Explorer 8600 Series enables cable operators to extend medianet capabilities deeper into the home including HD Whole-Home DVR services, personal content sharing across the Internet and HDTV, as well as content access on mobile devices." He went on to say that cable operators are better able to respond to the growing threat of telco IPTV, DTT TV, and satellite TV services with flexible IP-enabled capabilities.
Not only did Wesfall feel that the initiative was a savvy move, he indicated that Cisco's rivals will need to respond to the medianet concept. With Cisco's whole home HD DVR services and strong market share amongst cable providers, competitors will need to work on fine-tuning their personalization and interactive services.
In the meantime, IT professionals should start gearing up for the future through relevant Cisco training programs. For now, Cisco hasn't created any medianet certifications. However, IT pros can begin their preparations by enrolling in CCNA training which provides foundational Cisco networking skills from which to build upon.
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