Cisco today notched its highest-profile customer yet for its Carrier Routing System (CRS-1).

The San Jose, Calif., network equipment giant said Comcast will use CRS-1 to deliver video, high-speed Internet access and other IP services.

Cisco, which competes with Juniper and others, will also provide training under its deal with the nation's largest cable and broadband provider.

CRS-1, which boasts speeds of up to 92 terabits per second, was introduced in March 2004 as part of Cisco's 20th anniversary celebration. During the R&D period, it was code-named HFR for "Huge Fast Router."

Since its launch, the company has landed 28 customers for the CRS-1, including Cable & Wireless, China Telecom and Telstra, Wilson Craig, a Cisco spokesman, told internetnews.com. Another 13 trials are under way, he said.

Comcast chose the CRS-1 because it will provide "continuous system operation, overall network functionality, service flexibility and integrated optical scalability," David M. Fellows, executive vice president and CTO of Comcast Cable, said in a statement.

Comcast provides cable and broadband services to more than 21 million customers in 35 states and Washington, D.C. Installation time varies for CRS-1 customers, Craig said, and financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.

In related news, Philadelphia-based Comcast said it will form an Open Transport Initiative (OTI) to improve the interoperability among multiple vendors' equipment within Comcast's network.

Cisco and Nortel, which supplies Comcast with optical networking products, are the first vendors in this initiative.

The OTI will identify and define a set of common interfaces, which will be used to integrate and manage Nortel's dense wavelength division multiplexing (define) platforms and Cisco IP equipment, Comcast said.

"This collaboration is a natural and much-needed step in the evolution of network technology and the interoperability of multi-vendor networks," Comcast's Fellows said in a statement.

For their part, Nortel and Cisco will promote the adoption of the common interfaces as open-industry standards through standards bodies.