Imagine downloading the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress in just over one second! Imagine every motion picture ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes! Then imagine every man, woman and child in China making a video call simultaneously! That’s how Cisco says its next generation router will revolutionize the internet. The opening claims about the power of device were made in a Cisco press release by Pankaj Patel, SVP and GM for the service provider business.

A tech-ticker report tells us how weeks ago Cisco had said that it was going to make “a significant announcement that will forever change the Internet and its impact on consumers, businesses and governments.” Today they’ve finally made that anticipated announcement about the next-gen CRS-3 router. “CRS-3 Carrier Routing System is aimed at the huge growth in video on the Internet, a trend that has also caused slowdowns,” said Cisco’s CEO John Chambers. The unheard-of speeds delivered by CRS-3 will be a monumental help for the online video consumption that is “growing like crazy.” “Video brings the Internet to life,” said Chambers. “You are moving from a messaging platform to a video platform.” It seems Cisco has been obsessed with the video business lately by not only pushing its networking gear, but also by acquiring Pure Digital, the maker of popular Flip video device.

The CRS-3 router “will be available within the calendar year,” said Cisco execs on a press and analyst call this morning. But the question that when consumers will be able to take advantage of this new high speed internet failed to get a clear answer, most likely because it depends on when our own internet service providers upgrade.

Cisco is not the first and only one getting into the high-speed act on the web. Google recently announced that it was planning to build a superfast broadband service. The Federal Communications Commission is also about to disclose a plan to improve high-speed Internet access across the United States.