Cisco Systems confirmed Monday that it has inked a deal to acquire BroadSoft, a maker of cloud calling and contact center products, for $1.9 billion in cash.

Under the deal, Cisco plans to buy the Gaithersburg, Md.,-based company for $55 per share, in cash, in exchange for each share of BroadSoft.

Cisco said the deal will bolster its Unified Communications business and help it address “millions of aging TDM lines” that are poised to pivot to IP technology and cloud-native solutions in the years ahead.

The purchase will also give Cisco more exposure to cable operators, such as Cox Communications, Charter Communications, and Comcast, that work with BroadSoft to deliver hosted-voice services to business customers. BroadSoft works with more than 450 telecom carriers in 80 countries, Rob Salvagno, VP of corporate business development at Cisco, noted in this blog post.

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BroadSoft pulled in Q2 revenues of $88.8 million, up 9% from the year-ago quarter, along with a net loss of $3 million, or 10 cents per share. It’s forecasting Q3 revenues of $84 million to $90 million.

"Together, Cisco and BroadSoft will deliver a robust suite of collaboration capabilities across every market segment," Rowan Trollope, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's Applications Business Group, said in a statement. "We believe that our combined offers, from Cisco's collaboration technology for enterprises to BroadSoft's suite for small and medium businesses delivered through Service Providers will give customers more choice and flexibility."

Cisco and BroadSoft expect to close the deal during Q1 of 2018. They intend to continue to operate as separate companies, with BroadSoft employees joining Cisco's Unified Communications Technology Group, led by Vice President and General Manager Tom Puorro, under the Applications Group led by Trollope.

Spectrum Enterprise, a unit of Charter Communications, has expanded the availability of Spectrum Enterprise Hosted Voice to in 14 states, with planned availability across its national footprint by year-end.

The hosted voice product is a managed, cloud-based business solution that, the unit said, provides unified communications and serves as a replacement to on-premises Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems using “virtual environments” that are accessed through a dedicated and secure fiber connection.

Guardian Logistics Solutions, which operates a 95,000 square-foot distribution facility in Durham, N.C., is among a group of business customers that use Spectrum Enterprise’s hosted voice product.

“Reliable communications are the foundation of every business and essential for ensuring client satisfaction and loyalty,” Joseph DeLotto, VP, voice and unified communications products at Spectrum Enterprise, said in a statement. “Spectrum Enterprise Hosted Voice gives multi-location businesses a full-featured, unified communications solution that helps to create a flexible work environment, boosts collaboration and enables employees to connect anytime from any location.”

Business services remain a key growth segment for cable operators. Charter’s Enterprise unit pulled down $548 million in revenues in Q2 2017, up 9.3% year-on-year, while total commercial revenues reached $1.47 billion, up 9.5%. 

Altice USA said it will launch a hosted voice service that is targeted to small- and mid-sized business customers.

The service, Altice Business Hosted Voice, is powered by a proprietary platform (Altice Advanced Business Communications that was developed by Altice Labs.

Altice said its business-focused unit serves more than 375,000 businesses across 21 states via a  network comprised of over 14,000 fiber-lit locations, including more than 8,000 in the New York metro area.

Altice USA, formed via the acquisitions of Suddenlink Communications and Cablevision Systems Corp., said its hosted platform presently supports 2 million end users globally and is delivered over the company’s secure private network.

The cloud-based Altice Business Hosted Voice service features capabilities tailored for mobile workforces, including apps on Android or iOS devices to receive and make calls, transfer calls between devices, access voicemail remotely and configure call forwarding.

Altice said it’s selling the hosted voice product on a per-seat basis and flat-rate monthly plans.

“Our rollout of Altice Business Hosted Voice marks the U.S. introduction of Altice’s proprietary hosted voice platform, which underscores our commitment to introducing robust offerings for our U.S. customers,” Hakim Boubazine, co-president and COO of Altice USA, said in a statement .“By providing this critical communications service on our dedicated platform, we are best positioned to stay on the forefront of the fast-evolving needs of our customers, debuting new features as business demands change, and giving businesses freedom in how they communicate with clients and customers.”