3Com Extends Distribution of Its U.S. Robotics Cable Modems to Retail
Stores in United States and Canada; Modem Vendor Kick-Starts Emerging
Cable Market - 03:03 p.m Apr 22, 1998 Eastern
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 1998--3Com Corporation
(NASDAQ:COMS) today announced the availability of the first U.S. Robotics(R)
brand cable modems in retail stores, expanding its current direct sales of cable
modems through cable operators, toll-free numbers and the World Wide Web.
Northern Cable of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada began offering the modems and their
high-speed service, Adesso, in late March. BlazeNet of York, Pa., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Susquehanna Cable, activated their high-speed service and began
selling through retailers this month.
Customers of both operators will be able to purchase the cable modems at select
retail location throughout the service deployment area. 3Com will leverage its
leadership in these channels and the U.S. Robotics brand, which celebrates its
twentieth anniversary this year, to help increase cable modem subscriber
penetration and retail sales.
The next-generation modems offer tremendous access speeds -- up to
38 Mbps -- and are based on the Data Over Cable Service Interface
Specification (DOCSIS) industry standard. Retail availability
of cable modems has been an urgent goal of the cable industry because
it reduces capital and inventory expense for operators and increases
awareness and availability for consumers. In spite of incredibly
strong demand for cable modems, overall penetration has been weak
largely due to the current door-to-door distribution model of many
cable operators.
The emergence of DOCSIS-compliant modems and headend systems now offers
interoperability among multiple vendors and peace-of-mind to consumers and
retailers alike. 3Com plans to distribute cable modems through its approximately
6,000 retail outlets around the world, in addition to direct sales via select cable
companies, toll-free numbers and the World Wide Web.
"Today's announcement represents a major leap in 3Com's drive toward pervasive
networks with the next generation of Internet access and the most powerful brand
in the business," said William Markey, director of marketing for 3Com's Cable
Access group. "This landmark shift towards the retail sale model is welcomed from
Wall Street to Main Street, and 3Com looks forward to a busy summer of multiple
cable service launches and retail rollouts. We applaud Northern Cable and
BlazeNet for setting the pace."
As a result of 3Com's extensive experience with consumer modems, the U.S.
Robotics VSP and VSP Plus cable modems offer quick and easy installation for
even non-technical users. Both modems support high-speed data transmission over
cable television networks, providing download speeds hundreds of times faster than
ordinary analog modems. The "plug-and-play" modems can be installed in less
than 15 minutes by a novice or approximately five minutes by a
network professional.
Data from the end-user is sent back "upstream" on a standard telephone line at
33.6kbps, using either the consumer's existing analog modem (VSP model) or an
onboard analog modem (VSP Plus model).
The VSP cable modem will initially sell for a suggested retail price of
US$229 and the VSP Plus modem for a suggested retail price US$279.
In addition to its standard on-line and phone service and support,
3Com provides a five-year limited warranty on all cable modems.
About 3Com
Under the U.S. Robotics brand, 3Com has sold more modems worldwide than any
other supplier. With telco-return and cable-return modems, 3Com offers a
complete data-over-cable system for high-speed Internet access. The company
recently won "Best Vendor" at RetailVision 1998, and the VSP and VSP Plus cable
modems have received BYTE Magazine's 1997 Best of Comdex award for Best
Networking Infrastructure.
3Com Corporation enables individuals and organizations worldwide to communicate
and share information and resources at anytime from anywhere. As one of the
world's preeminent suppliers of data, voice and video communications technology,
3Com has delivered networking solutions to more than 100 million customers
worldwide. The company provides large enterprises, small and medium enterprises,
carriers and network service providers, and consumers comprehensive, innovative
information access products and system solutions for building intelligent, reliable and
high performance local and wide area networks. For further information, visit
3Com's World Wide Web site at 3com.com or the press site at
3com.com.
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