Scientific Atlanta, Inc. was a Georgia-based manufacturer of cable television, telecommunications, and broadband equipment, founded in 1951 by engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology.[1] The company was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2005 for $6.9 billion, a deal completed in February 2006.[2]
Design and History
Scientific Atlanta used a text-based wordmark for its corporate identity. The company registered the word mark “SCIENTIFIC ATLANTA” as a trademark, describing it as a house mark for equipment and software used in cable television systems, content distribution systems, and communications systems.[3] A separate trademark registration for “SCIENTIFIC ATLANTA” was filed in 2002 and later assigned to Technicolor Connected Home USA LLC.[4]
Following Cisco’s acquisition, the Scientific Atlanta wordmark was retained for a transitional period. After the acquisition was completed in February 2006, the wordmark from the previous logo was isolated and repositioned to the left, according to logo documentation.[5]
Cisco announced in January 2007 that it would phase out the Scientific Atlanta brand over the following 12 months.[2] In January 2008, Cisco dropped the Scientific Atlanta name from its newest line of digital set-top boxes, with new equipment carrying the Cisco name instead.[2] Cisco’s vice president of consumer marketing, Ken Wirt, confirmed that all new set-top boxes would proudly carry the Cisco name.[6]
By March 2008, Cisco had officially phased out the 56-year-old Scientific Atlanta name, renaming the division the Cisco Service Provider Video Technology Group.[2] Cisco replaced the signage at Scientific Atlanta’s headquarters in Lawrenceville, Georgia, with the Cisco logo approximately two weeks before the announcement.[2] A Cisco spokeswoman stated that equipment already in the field with the Scientific Atlanta brand or logo would not be replaced, but any new headends shipped or deployed would be Cisco-branded.[2]
By mid-2009, Cisco shut down Scientific Atlanta’s main website, with the company’s primary URL redirecting visitors to a page at Cisco.com with the headline “Scientific Atlanta is now part of Cisco.”[7]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
