Cisco will ditch the Linksys brand to bring all SMB and consumer gear under its single networking omnicorp banner.

CEO John Chambers blabbed the plan to journalists at a European roundtable last week.

Chambers opined: "The reason we kept Linksys' brand because it was better known in the US than even Cisco was for the consumer. As you go globally there's very little advantage in that."

Cisco paid $500m for Linksys in 2003. Though Chambers was unspecific, it looks set to disappear from shelves sometime this year. The integration process is almost complete, he said, with Linksys stock being run down.

All Cisco kit, from cheapo home wireless hubs up to fat military-capable setups will soon bear the Cisco brand. ®

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