Cisco Partners For ISP Program.

Cisco Systems, aiming to sell more dial-up access equipment to Internet service providers, announced a "Unified Communications" program that offers ISPs voice, fax and e-mail applications through partnerships with six software companies. The new applications from Cisco_s partners - Amteva Technologies, Comverse Technology, NetCentric, Netscape Communications, Software.com and Telcordia Technologies (formerly Bell Communications Research) - intend to help ISPs deploy enhanced communications services. Cisco said the new services ISPs can offer through the Unified Communications program include: integrated voice-mail, fax and e-mail; e-mail and voice-mail retrievable by phone; and broadcast fax service. GTE Internetworking, for example, as part of the announcement, said it is using Amteva_s Unified Messaging Platform and Software.com_s InterMail mail server products to develop new wholesale services for its ISP customers. The Cisco Unified Communications program is built around the Cisco AS5200, AS5300 and AS5800 dial access platforms. According to 1998 estimates from market research firm The Dell_Oro Group, Cisco holds third place in the dial access market with 18.2 percent share; it is behind leaders Ascend Communications (33.5 percent share) and 3Com (31.2 percent).