Rogers Communications Inc. is the first Canadian company to purchase a Cisco Systems Inc. TelePresence system. The Toronto-based communication service provider plans to use the high-definition video conferencing system to boost collaboration among its offices while decreasing the need for employee travel. According to a Cisco statement, Rogers will install four TelePresence 3000 systems in Toronto, Brampton, Montreal and Vancouver. The 3000 comes with three 65-inch plasma screens built into a table designed to make conference participants feel as if they're all in the same room. The systems can cost  more than $300,000 each. Cisco is new to the high-definition video conferencing market; TelePresence, released late last year, is a natural opponent to Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Halo Collaboration Studio. Telemanagement published a head-to-head comparison.

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