The provider of networking and communications technology and services – Cisco Systems revealed its new systems within its unified communications (UC) and TelePresence portfolios, on Tuesday, at VoiceCon 2009. The San Francisco, California based networking giant unveiled a “new lower cost telepresence system and a slew of enhancements to its unified communications platform,” to amplify its TelePresence high-definition videoconferencing lineup.

According to Cisco Systems, its “lower cost telepresence system is designed for deployment in existing teleconference rooms without upgrading them to accommodate top-of-the-line telepresence gear”.
The telepresence system called CTS 1300 features a 65-inch high definition plasma screen, offering 1,080p resolution and three high definition cameras mounted above a coder-decoder. It is set up against wall and it is 9 inches deep. It is priced less than $89,000, against its top-shelf room telepresence system, which costs about $300,000.

Erica Schroeder, Cisco's TelePresence marketing director, explained that the new TelePresence System, CTS 1300 is designed specifically for smaller companies that can’t afford for larger full-room systems. The CTS 1300 is suitable for up to six people and it uses existing conference room tables for deployments in branch offices or smaller locations. The three cameras of the CTS 1300 get activated by voice cues and catch the person who is speaking. Schroeder told that the new one-screen system brings down the bandwidth use of the larger three-screen models, the TelePresence 3000 and 3200 series, needing only 5 Mbps of bandwidth.

Charles Stucki, vice president and general manager of the TelePresence Systems Business Unit at Cisco, said, "Cisco is reinventing how users can experience Cisco TelePresence, and how companies can change the way they do business by collaborating in an entirely new way.”

Additionally, Cisco brought in several “enhancements to its unified communications platform,” including desktop integration, the use of soft phones with mid-call control features, messaging, conferencing, desk phone control and phone presence.

Laurent Philonenko, vice president and general manager of Cisco's UC business unit, said, "Cisco is delivering a differentiated architectural approach to UC and collaboration that allows customers to integrate and interoperate with Cisco solutions, home-grown business applications and third-party products.” Philonenko added, "By delivering an 'any-to-any' platform, Cisco gives customers flexibility in how they transform communication and collaboration in any workspace, whether that workspace is a mobile device, contact centre environment, desktop client or Cisco Unified IP Phone."

The VoIP and communications conference – VoiceCon 2009 that is going on this week in Orlando, Florida, is owned by United Business Media, the parent company of Channelweb.com.