Cisco Systems Plans Cable Modem Products

Cisco Systems Inc. said it will begin making large modems for cable system operators, allowing cable companies to provide high-speed Internet access to home and office computers. Cable connections can send data at speeds as much as 20 times faster than today’s conventional modems. Cisco said it will introduce its first cable modem product by December. Cable television operators want to move to a system where consumers buy the modems instead of renting them. Cisco is the world’s largest maker of computer networking equipment, with revenue of about $7 billion a year.