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Did Cisco bamboozle the European Commission into approving the Tandberg acquisition?
Mon, 03/29/10 - 8:24pm    Add your comment

I've got to admit it, I was flabbergasted to learn the European Commission made Cisco agree to divest its Telepresence Interoperability Protocol (TIP) to an independent industry body (page 2), as the "sole remedy required" (at least in my opinion), for the European Commission's approval of Cisco's acquisition of Tandberg.

So I've got to ask, did Cisco bamboozle the European Commission?

After all, the European Commission appeared quite concerned about Cisco's acquisition of Tandberg, stating on page 2 of its decision:

"In the course of the investigation, the Commission identified serious competitive concerns in relation to the market for high-end video conferencing products video conferencing solutions (dedicated-room solutions) often referred to as 'telepresence', where the combined entity would have high market shares."

European Commission Competition Case Number:   M.5669 - Cisco / Tandberg

Source: European Commission

So how might Cisco have bamboozled the European Commission?

Well, the Commission states on page 2 of its decision:

"In order to address these concerns, Cisco committed, inter alia, to divest the rights attached to its proprietary protocol TIP to an independent industry body, to ensure interoperability with Cisco's solutions and to allow other vendors to participate in the development and in the updates of such protocol. Following a market test, the Commission concluded that the commitments were suitable to remove the competition concerns identified. This structural remedy facilitates market entry or expansion irrespective of where the competitor or its target customers are located. Moreover, the remedy is designed in a manner ensuring that an independent industry body will elaborate an industry-based proposal for a standard protocol; this proposal will then be submitted to a standard setting organization."

What has Cisco agreed to do above for the European Commission that it wasn't already doing in its TIP License agreement below?

Overview of the Telepresence Interoperability License

Exactly, and that's why I believe Cisco has successfully bamboozled the European Commission!

What's your take, do agree with me that Cisco has successfully bamboozled the European Commission?

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