Cisco: HD Video Conferencing Will Be Big Business

Cisco Systems yesterday took the wraps off its new high-definition video conferencing system dubbed TelePresence. Available in December, the base model for one-on-one meetings is priced at $79,000 per station while the advanced unit for larger meetings goes for $299,000 per station. Cisco is hoping that it can both simplify and improve the quality of video conferencing, which has long been touted as a way for companies to make their meetings more efficient but has consistently failed to live up to the hype. The company says that TelePresence could be a billion-dollar business within 5 to 7 years.