With global IP traffic projected to increase threefold over the next five years -after having increased eightfold over the past five years - policy control and services creation at large scale has never been more vital for mobile and fixed communications service providers.

Cisco plans to add a critical piece of service creation technology to its portfolio today by announcing its intent to acquire Denver, Colorado-based BroadHop, a provider of next-generation policy control and service management technology for carrier networks worldwide. BroadHop's widely deployed policy control solutions for mobile and fixed networks will be integrated into Cisco's Service Provider Mobility Group to provide service providers the flexibility to control, monetize and personalize the types of service they choose, on any network.

How does this benefit customers and end-users directly? A service provider can integrate BroadHop technology to enable end-users to purchase customized premium service packages. For example, if a consumer desires premium on-demand streaming, BroadHop technology allows the service provider to add value to and monetize this particular service. In return, the user is granted a high level of service and premium bandwidth to ensure the best possible experience.

Cisco's acquisition of BroadHop is also an evolutionary step in supporting Cisco's Open Network Environment (ONE) for extensible network programmability. This policy infrastructure represents the baseline to monetization of the network and will enable Cisco to develop software services that empower network operators to deliver revenue-generating services, while enhancing the end-user experience.

BroadHop has been a key service provider Wi-Fi partner for Cisco, and this acquisition is a natural extension of our collaboration as we continue to engage tier-one global service providers with our combined technologies. This acquisition reinforces Cisco's commitment to service providers by enabling policy control and service management across mobile, fixed and wireless broadband networks and adds value by driving the mobility network architecture to the next level.

Acquisitions and investments are a key part of Cisco's build, buy and partner innovation framework and supports one of Cisco's five foundational priorities to lead the market in networking across all customer segments. The BroadHop acquisition is well-aligned to Cisco's goals of developing and delivering innovative network and software technologies, while also cultivating top talent. The BroadHop team will be integrated into Cisco's Service Provider Networking Group, reporting to Shailesh Shukla, vice president and general manager of the company's Software and Applications Group.

The BroadHop acquisition reinforces Cisco's commitment to developing services that enable our service provider partners to succeed across mobile, fixed and converged networks, while allowing us to continue to lead and define important transitions in networking.