Cisco acquires home network management company

Cisco this week said it plans to acquire privately held ClearAccess, a provider of service provisioning and device management software to service providers.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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ClearAccess, of Vancouver, Wash., develops hardware and software compliant with the TR-069 standard provisioning new devices, remotely solving faults and issuing upgrades. TR-069 was defined in 2004.

Cisco is acquiring the software assets and personnel of ClearAccess. The hardware operations will continue as SmartRG, Inc., a maker of ADSL and gigabit routers that serve as residential gateways between the broadband network and the home.

Cisco says ClearAccess' network management and software capabilities, combined with Cisco's, will enable service providers to improve delivery and management of their residential and mobile services, and help enhance operational efficiencies and customer experiences. The ClearAccess software will help Cisco's Prime network management system offer tools for monitoring and managing home bandwidth usage, parental controls, diagnostics and analytics, Cisco says.

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2012. Upon close, ClearAccess will be integrated into the Cisco Network Management Technology Group.

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