Cisco unveils next-gen router to speed online video

Cisco's much-anticipated announcement that it claimed would “forever change the Internet and its impact on consumers, businesses and governments” is being touted as good news for the online video industry.

The company said its new CRS-3 Carrier Routing System has more than 12 times the traffic capacity of the nearest competing system, and is designed to transform the broadband communication and entertainment industry by accelerating the delivery of compelling new experiences for consumers, new revenue opportunities for service providers, and new ways to collaborate in the workplace.

“Video brings the Internet to life,” the Wall Street Journal quoted Cisco CEO John Chambers as saying. “You are moving from a messaging platform to a video platform.”

Cisco said online video demand was pushing Internet growth beyond expectations, with video traffic seen to grow 12 times by 2013.

From a tech standpoint, the CRS-3 triples the capacity of its predecessor, the Cisco CRS-1, with up to 322 Terabits per second. That would make it possible to download the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress in just over one second, the company said, and every motion picture ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes. The system currently is in field trials, and already has been tested by AT&T between New Orleans and Miami. The CRS-3 also saves on electricity, Cisco said, consuming under 3 watts per GB; it's forward and backward compatible with the CRS-12. The price tag? $90,000.

For more:
- see this release
- check out this video
- see this Journal blog post