Cisco announced today that @Home, whose 1.8 million subscribers make it one of the largest cable operators in the Netherlands, is delivering its @Work brand of high-speed business-to-business services over a Cisco IP Next-Generation Network. @Work is bringing direct to business premises optical fibre connections designed to be capable of delivering up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps)* connections with advanced quality-of-service capabilities to support data, telephony, multimedia services and Internet access using Cisco Ethernet Fibre to the Business (E-FTTB) solutions.

@Work is deploying Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches equipped with Supervisor Engine 32 and Supervisor Engine 720 in its aggregation network. The Catalyst 6500 series maximises network uptime through hardware redundancy, software rapid failover and in-service software upgrades made possible through the modularity of Cisco IOS Software. For its access networks, @Work selected Cisco ME 3400 Series Ethernet Access Switches for its advanced functionalities, which facilitate remote provisioning and help enable end-to-end management and troubleshooting through a comprehensive suite of standards-based Ethernet operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) capabilities. The ME 3400 Series switches are deployed at @Work customer sites and offer comprehensive security capabilities and advanced quality-of-service (QoS) features.

"Our objective is to deliver future-proof, high-speed business services at competitive prices and Cisco's knowledge was very valuable in helping us to achieve this," said Sjouke Kooistra, product management manager for @Work. "@Work services are of interest to all businesses, from small and medium-sized businesses to major enterprises, and will boost economic development in the Netherlands. The high availability, security and QoS that Cisco technology offers are essential to the growth of our business services."

Michiel Panders, commercial director of service providers for Cisco Netherlands, said: "@Home is using Cisco IP NGN architecture to extend its successful consumer business to deliver added value to businesses, companies and institutions. This architecture, combined with the E-FTTB solution, offers @Home a solid base with the necessary flexibility to adapt to market changes and future market demands" - Cisco.