Cisco Network Enables City of Monterey to Cost-Effectively Reach Out t

    Business Editors/High-Tech Editors

    SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2005--Cisco Systems(R) (Nasdaq:CSCO) today announced that the City of Monterey in California has enhanced citizen services and ended a steady climb in connectivity costs by implementing a Cisco(R) wired and wireless network. The new converged, high-capacity infrastructure replaces an assortment of T1, digital subscriber line (DSL) and dial-up connections throughout about 20 city offices, public schools, fire stations and other facilities such as conference and recreation centers.
    "The Cisco network is proving to be very, very affordable for us, at a time when budgets are getting tighter and tighter for cities in California," said Fred Cohn, deputy city manager with the City of Monterey. "We're getting gigabit connectivity, 1,000 megabits per second, for what we were paying for 1.5 megabits per second in the T1 world. Because it's an integrated infrastructure, the network is easier to manage, maintain and secure than was our previous web of T1 and DSL connectivity. Plus, we're able to actually reduce the number of file servers on our network because the speed of connecting our assets scattered across the city is so much greater."
    Operating over Cisco equipment, the network allows video-conferencing among facilities, and the city is launching a wireless initiative to extend network access to remote personnel as a way to help and improve productivity. City council meetings are now broadcast on government-access TV and both live and on-demand over the Internet. Cohn said the meetings' availability has increased community interest and heightened in-person attendance at council meetings. The Cisco network has also allowed the City of Monterey to implement a comprehensive disaster-recovery plan, involving off-site data backups.
    California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), is one of more than 10 government, research or educational institutions connected to the city's network. (Others include the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, the Naval Postgraduate School, California State Parks and Monterey Bay Aquarium.) The Cisco network provides CSUMB's 3,700 students and 300 faculty members with new opportunities for collaborative learning, both among departments within the university and with outside institutions. For example, the university's business-management and information-technology departments now offer a joint master's degree program. An element of the CSUMB's relationship with the City of Monterey calls for students to engage in reciprocal "service learning" through work with city agencies, schools and nonprofit organizations throughout the area.
    "The founding vision of this university has been to serve historically underserved, working-class children of farm workers of the surrounding tri-county area, and this network is a critical tool in creating those linkages. We are engaging with the community in all sorts of innovative ways," said Diane Cordero de Noriega, provost and academic vice president with CSUMB. "Plus, we so highly value collaborative learning at this university--we expect our students to be able to work with a group of people, share the work and determine who's going to lead and how things are going to get done--and this network enables them to get that experience. Technology transforms how people learn."
    Sue Bostrom, senior vice president, Internet Business Solutions Group and Worldwide Government Affairs with Cisco, added, "We are gratified to be able to help the City of Monterey government and its partners create a more vibrant community. More local governments are finding that network-based technologies make sense for reasons above and beyond economic values. They can prove to be invaluable tools in achieving public-service goals: fostering closer relationships, driving economic development and enhancing the general welfare."
    The City of Monterey network consists of Cisco Catalyst 4006 and 3500 Series switches, 7200 Series routers and Cisco Aironet 1200 Series wireless access points.

    About Cisco Systems

    Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, celebrates 20 years of commitment to technology innovation, industry leadership and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

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CONTACT: Cisco Systems, Inc. Janis Langley, 408-526-6942 (Press) jalangle@cisco.com Kristin Duskin-Gadd, 828-645-4846 (Industry Analysts) kvondusk@cisco.com Elizabeth Lemon, 408-527-8452 (Investor Relations) lemon@cisco.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: GOVERNMENT COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS TELECOMMUNICATIONS INTERNET E-COMMERCE PRODUCT SOURCE: Cisco Systems, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005