Cisco Systems has launched manufacture of its 2600 series access point in Tver, a city 160 km from Moscow, Digit.ru reported last week.
Production is being carried out by Jabil Circuit, a contract manufacturer whose plant in Tver has been used by Cisco since November 2011 to assemble IPTV set-top boxes.
This new launch is a step towards the company’s ultimate goal of establishing “long-term collaborative and transparent relations with the Russian government,” Cisco Wireless business development manager Andrey Kharitonov said in an exchange with East-West Digital News.
“This is much more than just an order placement,” Kharitonov added. “Cisco is handing off product specifications, technology, test plans and software images… and pays close attention to the quality of the products.”
For Cisco, local manufacturing is also a way to avoid complications related to wireless equipment importation from abroad. The company now intendeds to continue its “aggressive expansion” into the Russian market, Kharitonov said.
Cisco has demonstrated its interest in Russia over the past few years by teaming up with the Skolkovo innovation center on research and education projects, investing in the software publisher Parallels and contributing to employment-raising efforts in the country’s Southern and North Caucasus Federal Districts.
