The top 10 mergers and acquisitions in the network industry in 2009 all cracked the billion-dollar barrier, and involved vendors in hardware, IT services, collaboration, storage, wireless infrastructure and other segments. IT behemoths such as Oracle, Cisco, Dell, HP, EMC and IBM were among the biggest spenders.

Cisco Systems’s multibillion-dollar purchases of videoconferencing leader, Tandberg, and agreement to buy Starent Networks, extends the networking giant’s reach into distribution and even content.

With its purchase of Starent, announced last week, Cisco will enable the sending of IP content wirelessly via carrier networks, while, its recent $US3 billion purchase of Tandberg will allow consumers and professionals to share IP videoconferences.

This week's $US2.9 billion acquisition of Starent Networks indicates that Cisco is backpedaling from its WiMAX focus and shifting it to LTE as the 4G underpinning of next generation mobile data networks.

Cisco Tuesday announced its second multibillion dollar deal this month: a definitive agreement to acquire Starent Networks, a provider of IP-based mobile infrastructure for carriers, for about US$2.9 billion.