Cableco VoIP and IP application infrastructure supplier Arris today snapped up Tandberg TV for $1.2 billion. The deal, expected by analysts, adds Tandberg’s IPTV smarts to Arris’ arsenal, to better compete with Cisco and Motorola, who have both made similar moves recently to beef up as the world of service-provider triple-play grows and grows.

“We’ve been anticipating this deal for some time as Arris really needed to make a splash in the video space and to keep pace with Cisco and Motorola in the cable MSO market,” said Jeff Heynen, broadband and IPTV analyst at Infonetics Research, in an email. “Arris is strong in voice and data, but until now, they’ve had no video play whatsoever.” The companies will have a conference call Tuesday.