4/2/2007 -- Cisco Systems Inc. last week introduced a 3G Wireless High-Speed WAN Interface Card (HWIC) for its Integrated Global Services Routers (ISRs).

Cisco modestly says its new HWIC offers wireless data connectivity for branch offices deploying the ISR. Analysts say it does a lot more than that.

"This solution takes branch office routing to the next level. The new capabilities include not only Wireless LAN Controller and Voice over Wireless LAN modules, but also 3G Wireless WAN connectivity," wrote Tere' Bracco, a senior research director with consultancy Current Analysis. "[T]his demonstrates that [Cisco] is not resting on the laurels of its ISR accomplishments, but is developing the ISR to remain a continuing competitive threat." For this reason, Bracco said, Cisco's new HWIC deliverable could prove to be a very disruptive market phenomenon.

"Competing equipment vendors are going to have to respond to Cisco's introduction of the HWIC with similar branch office wireless high-speed Internet access solutions of their own," Bracco said. "As well, the introduction of the HWIC is going to create a professional services bonanza among wireless integrators as they determine optimal coverage and service choices for enterprises deploying the HWIC. It even opens up new markets in the consumer sector. Most important, though, is the portent of integrated voice support and the implications that will have for integration of wireless voice service and VoWLAN. In short, this is a very important event in the enterprise access routing market."

The HWIC enables a number of new or expanded scenarios for enterprise customers, Bracco said. For one thing, it's an obvious choice for backup connectivity, but it's also an excellent connectivity option for temporary branches, offices in remote locations, and offices with geographic and environmental constraints, Bracco continued. "It also presents some exciting potential deployments for home networking and other consumer applications, particularly home security. The telephone/cable connection is the weakest link in home security systems now, and this would address it neatly in a solution that could be bundled with home networking and high-speed Internet service," Bracco said. "However, the HWIC isn't an answer to everything. First and foremost, like all wireless services, this isn't going to work everywhere due to service coverage issues. Also, the initial release of the HWIC supports only data traffic over the 3G wireless connection, not voice."

Some of these caveats might dissipate once latency issues are resolved in 3G wireless transmission, Bracco pointed out.

"While Cisco's HWIC doesn't currently support voice transmissions as well as data, the market can expect it to evolve to do so," Bracco concluded. "This opens up interesting opportunities for integrating wireless voice service with VoWLAN, making it easy to offer seamless, hand-off of calls between the service provider and enterprise wireless networks, as well as creating the opportunity for some interesting and appealing wireless service bundles for enterprises." --Stephen Swoyer