3Com Announces Its ADSL G.dmt and G.lite CPE Strategy; Full line of
Multi-user and Single-user ADSL DMT Products Unveiled
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SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 1998--3Com
Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS) today announced its ITU G.dmt and G.lite
CPE ADSL strategy encompassing solutions for small and home
businesses, telecommuters and consumers who want to enjoy on-line
information, entertainment and future services over high-speed ADSL
connections of up to 8 Mbps. Also unveiled today are the
OfficeConnect(R) Remote 811 ADSL router, the internal U.S. Robotics(R)
PCI ADSL modem, and the external U.S. Robotics(R) USB ADSL modem. The
3Com G.dmt ADSL products give users the flexibility of full-rate ADSL
implementation today and the ability to migrate to the evolving G.lite
specification later this year. Today's announcements leverage 3Com's
worldwide leadership in customer premises equipment (CPE) and
expertise in driving standards and customer adoption of emerging
Internet access technologies.
"3Com's comprehensive suite of flexible G.dmt solutions will help
shift ADSL service and equipment closer to the mass market model,"
said Laura Howard, vice president of marketing and business
development, 3Com's DSL initiatives. "Our strategy and products
announced today demonstrate to customers our ability to deliver on our
strategy of fully programmable ADSL routers and modems supporting
current and evolving industry standards."
"Lucent acknowledges the market adoption of G.dmt as the standard
for ADSL and applauds 3Com's launch of their G.dmt CPE product
portfolio," said Linda Manchester, director of ADSL business
management and strategy for Lucent.
3Com's G.dmt ADSL CPE Strategy
3Com's four-pronged G.dmt CPE strategy is based on the
understanding that mass market ADSL deployment relies primarily on the
ADSL vendors' ability to deliver complete compatibility between
consumer and service provider equipment. The first component to the
strategy is to partner with leading Central Office (CO) equipment
vendors delivering G.dmt solutions to ensure complete standards-based
interoperability. This was first demonstrated in the agreement
announced with Alcatel on April 29, 1998 (see news release, "3Com and
Alcatel Commit to Interoperable ADSL"). 3Com also announced
interoperability agreements with Advanced Fibre Communications,
Diamond Lane Communications, Newbridge Networks Corp., and RedBack
Networks (see today's separate news releases).
The second element to deliver market-moving ADSL CPE is to
support both full-rate G.dmt and G.lite "splitterless" ITU
specifications in one product package. Customers receive the benefits
of investment protection because of its highly flexible and fully
programmable Digital Signal Processor-based (DSP) products. With an
easy-to-use and easy-to-understand graphical user interface, 3Com
ensures that customers will be able to easily migrate to G.dmt and
G.lite as the standards evolve and their bandwidth needs change.
The third component to 3Com's G.dmt CPE strategy is to offer
low-priced small business and consumer solutions. Affordable ADSL
products allow for faster consumer adoption while also encouraging
service providers to realize ADSL's business potential in both the
office and home markets.
3Com's fourth strategic approach is to offer a broad suite of
ADSL G.dmt CPE products to move ADSL into several market segments to
increase widespread ADSL use. 3Com's ADSL G.dmt/G.lite CPE product
family includes both internal and external modems, and multiprotocol,
multi-user router products to satisfy telecommuters, power users, and
small business ADSL market requirements.
3Com DMT ADSL CPE Solutions
The OfficeConnect Remote 811 ADSL Router
Priced at an affordable $595 (USD) list price, the OfficeConnect
Remote 811 ADSL router balances sophisticated routing functionality
with ease-of-use installation and management capabilities. Small and
home businesses can experience the benefits -- without the
complexities -- of high-speed ADSL access with the OfficeConnect 811's
simplicity features, like browser-based web management and a
point-and-click configuration tool.
The OfficeConnect Remote 811 ADSL router is the newest member of
3Com's award-winning OfficeConnect brand networking solutions for
small businesses. 3Com has developed the OfficeConnect brand solutions
specifically for non-technical small business users. The solution
family comprises more than 30 mix-and-match stackable products
including hubs, routers, switches and LAN modems that allow small
businesses to scale and evolve their networks as their businesses grow
and technology needs change. The OfficeConnect Remote 811 ADSL router
continues the OfficeConnect family tradition with its ease-of-use,
price/performance characteristics, flexibility and low
cost-of-ownership.
The OfficeConnect Remote 811 ADSL router provides full-rate DMT
support and is G.lite-capable. Its main features include:
--true megabit speed connections -- 8 mbps downstream and 1 mbps
upstream;
--interoperability with widely-deployed G.dmt DSLAM and DLC
head-end equipment;
--full standards-based multiprotocol routing to support IP or IPX
environments;
--flexible support for either full-rate G.dmt or sub-rate G.lite;
--integrated four-port hub for LAN connectivity;
--integrated DHCP server for ease in IP address management;
--PAT and NAT support to consolidate Internet accounts for
cost-effective shared access;
--ILMI 4.0 support for service provisioning;
--ATM over ADSL support (RFC 1483 and PPP) to support isochronous
delivery, and;
--browser-based web management for the easiest configuration and
management.
The U.S. Robotics USB ADSL Modem and U.S. Robotics PCI ADSL Modem
3Com will deliver both external and internal ADSL modems for
power users, telecommuters and residential ADSL applications. These
products also support both G.dmt and G.lite ADSL standards. The U.S.
Robotics USB ADSL modem is an external modem that supports the
increasingly popular Universal Serial Bus interface. The U.S. Robotics
PCI ADSL modem is an internal ADSL modem that gives power-users a
low-cost, space-saving alternative. Both deliver the ease-of-use U.S.
Robotics brand customers have come to depend on, such as local
GUI-based configuration and support for the ILMI 4.0 standard for
service provisioning.
Customers will benefit from the following features of the new
ADSL modems:
--true megabit speed connections
-- 8 mbps downstream and 1 mbps upstream;
--interoperability with widely-deployed G.dmt DSLAM and DLC
head-end equipment;
--ATM over ADSL support (RFC 1483 and PPP) to support isochronous
delivery;
--ILMI 4.0 support for service provisioning;
--Plug-and-play support for Windows95 and Windows98 for easy
installation;
--Support for Windows NT environment, and;
--Intuitive Graphical User Interface for configuration and
management.
3Com Drives ADSL Standard Evolution
3Com plays an important role in the standardization of ADSL,
participating in the ADSL Forum (founding member), the Universal ADSL
Working Group (UAWG) (contributor status) and the ITU ADSL Working
Group. Our commitment to standards is driven by our obsession to drive
ADSL to mass market deployment that will only happen through
interoperable solutions based on industry standards.
Pricing and Availability
The OfficeConnect Remote 811 ADSL router is priced at $595 (USD)
list price and is expected to become available worldwide in September
1998. The U.S. Robotics PCI ADSL modem is expected to become available
worldwide in September and is priced at $269 (USD) list price. The
U.S. Robotics USB ADSL modem, priced at $299 (USD) list price, is
expected to ship worldwide in November. |
