Cisco Routers Get a 3G Boost

Cisco introduced a High-Speed WAN Interface Card (HWIC) this week that adds 3G capabilities to its integrated services routers to enable small enterprises to flip over to wireless backup when their wired network goes down.

With the WAN high-speed 3G wireless card, the Cisco integrated services routers (ISR) will connect to the Internet via carrier EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) or HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) networks.

AT&T, Sprint, Telefonica Moviles Espana and Verizon Wireless have already tested the new HWIC card with their 3G networks.Service providers will be able to leverage the 3G card to offer new managed services, including automatic WAN failover or alternate bandwidth in the event the primary WAN link becomes congested, the vendor says. Service providers also can use the HWIC to deploy primary WAN access quickly to temporary sites or remote locations that don't have a wired infrastructure.

Cisco is also offering cards that support GSM and CCDMA. All the cards are priced at $850.

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