Cisco and New Songdo International City Development Join Forces to Create One of the Most Technologically Advanced Smart+Connected Communities in the World

US 47M Investment from Cisco Paves the Way for a Dedicated Managed Services Company and a Global Showcase for Smart+Connected Communities in the North East Asia Trade Tower

SAN JOSE, Calif. and INCHEON, South Korea – July 4, 2011 – New Songdo International City Development LLC (NSIC) and Cisco today announced agreements that form important milestones in the development of Songdo International Business District, a 1,500-acre new city on the coast of Incheon, South Korea. Songdo IBD is being developed by NSIC, a joint-venture between American developer Gale International and Korean construction firm POSCO E&C, under the governance of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority.

Under the first agreement, Cisco has agreed to invest in U.Life Solutions, together with Songdo U.Life LLC, a company previously formed by NSIC and LG CNS.  Songdo U.Life will retain majority ownership in the new company, with Cisco holding a minority stake.  U.Life Solutions will deliver Smart+Connected Communitymanaged services to businesses and residents in Songdo IBD.

The second agreement will see NSIC integrate Cisco® products and technologies into new construction projects in Songdo IBD and paves the way for Cisco to establish a Global Showcase for Smart+Connected Communities that will ultimately be located in the Northeast Asia Trade Tower. The center will be a dynamic showcase for technologies and applications for smart cities built on the experience of Songdo IBD.

Cisco’s investment in U.Life Solutions represents a significant milestone in Cisco’s vision of building Smart+Connected Communities by using the network as the platform to deliver innovative services. U.Life Solutions will deliver a wide range of managed smart-city services to organizations and residents living and working in Songdo IBD, including integrated building and facility management, on-premise safety and security, home networking, and virtual concierge services. Cisco’s investment of USD 47 million announced today underpins the company’s commitment to both agreements.

U-Life Solutions will deliver the managed smart-city services over the Cisco Unified Service Deliveryplatform, the single integrated solution unifying data centers, computing resources, video, collaboration and communications for Songdo IBD.

Beginning this year, U.Life Solutions will start deploying Smart+Connected Community Home Solutions that comprise advanced home networking systems and Cisco TelePresence®, a next-generation video conferencing technology. With this solution, residents will be able to conveniently control lighting, air conditioning/heating systems, gas, curtains and all other home devices using touch-screen wall pads, mobile remote controllers and even smartphones, computers and tablet devices. The Cisco TelePresence unit will enable real-time video communication and provide a window not just to family members, but also to a host of service providers such as schools, banks and the government.

Highlights

• Cisco’s investment in U.Life Solutions will make the most of the synergies of Cisco’s Smart+Connected Communities vision with Gale International’s experience as a world-leading smart-city developer, together with Posco E&C’s experience as a general contractor in large-scale construction projects, and LG CNS’s reputation as a leading IT systems integrator in Korea.
• The first phase of Songdo IBD, which includes hotels, retail, residential towers, a convention center and a 100-acre park, opened in August 2009, and about 7,000 households are already occupied in the city. Approximately 40 percent of the project iscompleted. When fully completed in 2017, Songdo IBD will be home to 65,000 people, and 250,000 are expected to workand livein Songdo International City.
• The establishment of U.Life Solutions to deliver managed Smart+Connected Community services to the newly built city is a critical milestone in the development of Songdo IBD into a model for Korea’s national ubiquitous city program. The u-City initiative aims to turn the nation’s cities into environmentally sustainable communities that also generate rapid economic growth and opportunities for citizens.
• The new Cisco Global Showcase for Smart+Connected Communities in Songdo IBD will feature solutions for smart cities and will also include a training facility and briefing center.
• A central technology component involves Cisco TelePresence and related video technologies. More than 10,000 Cisco TelePresence units are expected to be installed in Songdo IBD over the next seven years.
• Cisco TelePresence will enable leading-edge services in areas such as education, security, virtual learning and concierge services. Songdo IBD will allow residents, visitors and businesses to experience a technology-enabled lifestyle through digital infrastructure systems designed and built directly into the city’s framework.
• Cisco’s technologies will also help Songdo IBD foster environmental sustainability. For example, sensors in buildings will be able to gather, analyze and display real-time energy use and resident/employee resource-consumption data.

Supporting quotes:

Young-Gil Song, Mayor, Incheon Metropolitan City

• “Private companies play an active role in ensuring that ICT contributes to upgrading the lives of smart city residents. In line with this, the decision for Gale International, POSCO E&C and Cisco to establish U.Life Solutions is much appreciated. I look forward to U.Life Solutions integrating various technologies and network to make the ‘sustainable city of the future’ become a reality.”

Wim Elfrink, executive vice president, Emerging Solutions, and chief globalization officer, Cisco

• “Our further collaboration with Gale International on Songdo IBD is our next milestone in ensuring that technology becomes a key enabler in creating economically, socially and environmentally sustainable cities. This brings us a step closer to our vision to create a new industry based on smart regulation, new ecosystems, public-private partnerships and 21st-century smart connected cities. I am sure Songdo IBD will soon be set as a leading example of a technologically led smart future city.”

Stanley C. Gale, chairman of NSIC

• “The implementation of Cisco TelePresence and related technologies will transform the lives of the citizens of Songdo IBD. Every apartment will feature this window to the world, accessing friends, family and citizen services directly, live and in person. Songdo IBD will be the ultimate smart connected community, offering lifestyle enabling innovations for residents and businesses. We look forward to collaborating with Cisco to use technology to build and transform environmentally responsible and economically viable communities.

Supporting Resources:

• For more information on Cisco Smart+Connected Communities: http://www.cisco.com/go/smartconnectedcommunities
• Keep up with Cisco’s news by visiting the company’s Platform Blog.
• Follow Cisco APAC on twitter: @CiscoAPAC
• RSS Feed for Cisco: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/rss.html

About Gale International

Gale International is a premier international real estate investment and development company with headquarters in New York and offices in; California; Shanghai; Seoul and Songdo, South Korea. For more information please visit www.galeintl.com.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO, news, filings) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco products are supplied in Korea by Cisco Systems International, BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

# # # #

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date