SAN JOSE -- Calling the smart grid's potential "100 or 1,000 times larger than the Internet," Cisco Systems today announced plans to roll out a series of routers and switches aimed at controlling electrical use across the nation's energy networks and into homes.

The market for communications equipment for electrical infrastructure use could be worth $100 billion, Cisco says.

Cisco notes that the nation's energy grids can be fragmented and slow to respond, and that there is a tremendous need for electricity monitoring and optimization.

President Obama's stimulus plan budgeted $11 billion for smart grids; Cisco believes that market will be worth some $20 billion market in five years.

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