LIVE FROM CISCO LIVE, LAS VEGAS: Cisco and AT&T moved to tap shifting work patterns among small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with a platform they claimed provides a more consistent user experience regardless of their location.

Cisco’s Webex Calling service is being integrated with AT&T’s network to offer unified communications from a single mobile number. The companies stated the set-up can cut costs by removing the need for landlines and improve call quality.

The service is scheduled to be made available to Webex Calling users in the US later this year.

A Cisco representative said the AT&T cloud voice with Webex Go is compatible with Samsung and Apple smartphones.

Customers require a compatible AT&T plan and a Webex calling licence.

Cisco and AT&T also plan to offer SD-WAN connectivity and add-ons including mobile 5G and fibre broadband for businesses of all sizes.

Jonathan Davidson (pictured), EVP and GM of Cisco Networking, told Mobile World Live the SD-WAN service could run on AT&T’s low- and mid-band spectrum.

“AT&T has tremendous fibre assets, but some customers may want to fall back to a wireless solution so they can continue to run their transactions.”

AT&T SVP for business products Mike Troiano explained the new services focused on bringing software-defined networking principles to SMBs which typically lack large IT departments.

He noted hybrid work environments require services to be rethought.