For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 18, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Cisco System Inc. (CSCO), Logitech International SA (LOGI), Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ), 3Com Corp. (COMS) and Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS).

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Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

M&A in Videoconferencing Market

Merger and acquisition activities are heating up in the unified collaborative solutions market that provides videoconferencing. Prompted by the severe economic downturn, business enterprises on a global basis are restricting travel budgets to control costs. This makes high-definition telepresence solutions a cost-induced

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Merger and acquisition activities are heating up in the unified collaborative solutions market that provides videoconferencing. Prompted by the severe economic downturn, business enterprises on a global basis are restricting travel budgets to control costs. This makes high-definition telepresence solutions a cost-induced alternative in an increasingly interactive world. This market stands to gain in the near future since enterprises, governments, and educational institutions are increasingly recognizing the productivity-enhancing benefits of video conferencing. Yesterday, Cisco System Inc. (CSCO) raised its acquisition price to $3.41 billion for Tandberg ASA, the largest videoconferencing product maker in the world with around 35% market share. Cisco itself is a developer of high-end videoconferencing solutions, which mainly comprises custom-designed digital boardrooms for executives and boards to hold global meetings. The merged entity will definitely be a much bigger player in the industry. On Nov 10, computer accessories maker Logitech International SA (...

Recently, Polycom Inc (PLCM) introduced two new infrastructure platforms for visual communication network solutions that will enable large organizations, government agencies, educational institutions, and healthcare companies to deliver enterprise-wide and business-to-business video services with state-of-the-art quality, scalability and reliability.  These products are (1) RMX 4000, a multipoint conferencing platform that simultaneously supports hundreds of HD video calls and more than a thousand video and audio conference calls (2) RSS 4000, a high-capacity recording and streaming server through which users will be able to easily and cost-effectively create and stream HD video and content using any telepresence and video conferencing systems.  Polycom is a leading solutions provider for video conferencing, with an estimated 30%-40% share of the market. Prompted by the severe economic downturn, business enterprises on a global basis are restricting travel budgets to control costs. This makes Polycom’s high-definition telepresence solutions a cost-effective alternative in ...

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) has decided to increasingly focus on the small and medium sized businesses (SMB) segment. Recently, the company signed a deal to acquire Cimco Communications Inc, a privately held competitive local exchange carrier in the Chicago area. However, the financial terms of this acquisition have not been disclosed. Cimco has more than 23,000 customers in the mid-tier commercial business segment.  In addition to bringing in a new base of customers, Cimco will give Comcast some innovative engineering, customer service, and operations, specifically designed for the mid-range business services market. Cimco has strategic relationship with some industry leading original equipment manufacturers like Cisco System Inc (CSCO), Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) and Adtran Inc (ADTN).  Cable MSOs are facing fierce competition from telecom service providers. The U.S. telecom giants such as AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless (VZ) are gradually expanding their fiber-optic networks. As a ...

Taiwan’s largest integrated telecom operator Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. (CHT) recently adopted a series of measures to expand its presence outside the country. The Taiwanese telecom market is quickly approaching maturity and has become extremely competitive following telecom regulatory changes.  The market size is comparably smaller than other regional country markets, with approximately 23 million potential customers. Therefore, geographical expansion is critical for Chunghwa’s operations to retain a leading edge.

The company formed a joint venture with Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. to build ST-2 telecommunications satellite network. Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Integral Systems Inc. (ISYS) will install satellite ground system for the ST-2 program.

Chunghwa signed a memorandum of understanding with China Telecom Corp. Ltd. (CHA) to set up a joint venture to develop information and communications technologies in China.

As part of its next-generation network implementation program, the company is deploying Cisco System Inc.’s (

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Recently, Motorola Inc (MOT) was awarded a contract to supply EuroDOCSIS 3.0 digital video modems to UPC Broadband for its pan-European network. UPC Broadband is the European division of Liberty Global Inc (LBTYA), the largest cable TV operator in Europe.  Using Motorola’s SBV6120E EuroDOCSIS 3.0 voice and data solution, UPC will deliver high-speed (120 Mbps) data and IP voice and services to its customers in The Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Switzerland. The SBV6120E is part of Motorola's complete portfolio of bandwidth-expanding EuroDOCSIS 3.0-certified technologies.  EuroDOCSIS 3.0 standard is based on 8 MHz channels whereas U.S. DOCSIS 3.0 standard is based on 6 MHz channels. Motorola’s DOCSIS 3.0 solutions enable cable operators to cost-effectively introduce new value-added services, increase bandwidth for feature-rich services, generate higher return on investment, and increase revenues.  Although the financial terms of this contract haves not been disclosed, ...

Arris Group Inc. (ARRS) has decided to acquire the privately held Digeo Inc., including its intellectual property portfolio, for a total consideration of approximately $20 million in cash.  Digeo is a pure-play interactive television (iTV) that has diversified its operations into digital video recorder (DVR) and interactive program guide (IPG) market after its merger with Moxi Digital Inc in 2002. The company’s flagship product Moxi(r) HD DVR is a premium hub for home distribution of digital entertainment.  The deal is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of 2009. Purchase of Digeo together with the recent acquisition of patents and video processing technology for digital network of EG Technology Inc will significantly strengthen Arris’ combined portfolio of digital video networking and multimedia services delivery platform.  Acquisition of these valuable video processing assets will give Arris an edge in this industry, which is very competitive. ...

AT&T (T) became the first US wireless service provider to deploy 3G femtocell base station. The company has already started selling home base station radios in some select domestic markets, thus beating its closest rival Sprint Nextel (S) that was claiming to become the pioneer in deploying 3G home base stations.

The U.S. is likely to undergo a massive wave of 3G femtocell from the end of this year. Sprint began providing 2G CDMA femtocell since 2007. Last January, Verizon Wireless (VZ) launched its first 2G femtocell that does not support 3G EV-DO networks for faster download at home.

Femtocell is quickly emerging as a fundamental technology enabler in the deployment of next-generation (3G/4G) wireless network infrastructure. A femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in a residential or small business environment. This access point communicates to the wireless service providers’ network

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Virgin Media Inc (VMED) has decided to upgrade its IPTV distribution platform and legacy digital TV infrastructure using Cisco System Inc’s (CSCO) digital video head-end technology. Virgin is currently rolling-out a high-speed diversified video and TV content delivery network. Cisco will install a large array of its IP core and edge network products in all the regional and central head-end points of Virgin. The product array will include Cisco 7609 routers, 4948 10-Gigabits Ethernet switches, digital content manager, RF gateways, multicast manager, and ROSA control & monitoring system.  This upgraded system will support the entire 12.6 million customers of Virgin. The simplified infrastructure will help the company to reduce operating expenses, support the rollout of new conditional-access security services, and accelerate the introduction of new standard- and high-definition services. Virgin has decided to install Cisco’s next-generation platform of video content delivery to leverage its existing DOCSIS ...

Femtocell is quickly emerging as a fundamental technology enabler in the deployment of next-generation (3G/4G) wireless network infrastructure. A femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in a residential or small business environment. This access point communicates to the wireless service providers’ network through a broadband connection.  Using femtocell, a wireless operator can improve both coverage and capacity especially in an indoor area where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable, in a highly cost effective way. This will reduce the carriers’ operating costs as well as capital expenditure.  The U.S. is likely to undergo a massive wave of 3G femtocell from the end of 2009. Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) is claiming that it will be the first telecom operators to introduce 3G femtocell in the U.S., beating AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless (VZ). Although Sprint Nextel is providing 2G ...