OCT 13, 1999, M2 Communications - NEW YORK -- Recognizing the growing
number of households with multiple computers, Bell Atlantic will test a
service that will give consumers a high-speed local area network (LAN)
in their home without the need for costly new wiring. About 30 Bell
Atlantic.net customers with Bell Atlantic Infospeed DSL (Digital
Subscriber Line) service will participate in the trial throughout the
Washington metropolitan area.
The trial will enable family members and people with home offices to
connect multiple PCs to the Internet simultaneously. After networking
hardware is installed in their computers, participants will simply plug
multiple computers into different phone jacks to network their
computers together. Participants will also be able to network other
equipment such as fax machines, printers and scanners.
"Home networking will put an end to family disputes about who can go
online when there is only one high-speed Internet connection in a
household," said Amy McIntosh, president of consumer data services for
Bell Atlantic. "Consumers will be able to enjoy the high-speed access
that our Infospeed DSL service affords, and they will be able to swap
files between PCs, enjoy multi-player games and share additional
hardware."
This revolutionary application of new technologies grew from Bell
Atlantic's participation in the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance
(HomePNA). In June, Bell Atlantic became the first regional Bell
company to join HomePNA, a consortium of industry leaders committed to
establishing a universal standard for high-speed home networking using
existing copper phone lines.
Bell Atlantic Infospeed DSL, which is Bell Atlantic's brand name for
Digital Subscriber Line technology, will allow those participating in
the trial to access the Internet at speeds up to 126 times faster than
that afforded by a 56 kilobits per second (Kbps) modem. The digital
high-speed service provides an "always-on" link to the global Internet.
By taking advantage of unused capacity available in existing telephone
lines, the technology allows consumers to use a single phone line to
send faxes or make phone calls while they are surfing the Internet.
HomePNA partners Tut Systems, Lynksys, 3Com and Diamond Multimedia
will provide adapters, network interface cards (NICs) and other
networking hardware for the trial.
Tut Systems (NASDAQ: TUTS), a HomePNA founding member, is providing
HomeRun adapters that create a high-speed, always-on Ethernet LAN over
existing phone lines and every phone jack in the home. No new wires or
connections are required, and HomeRun operates concurrently with
existing telephone service at speeds 20 times faster than a dial-up
connection.
"The technology provides the bandwidth necessary for today's home
networking applications like shared Internet access, shared peripherals
and multi-player gaming," said Sal D'Auria, president and CEO of Tut
Systems. "The combination of Tut's HomeRun technology, the most highly
utilized home networking technology in the industry, coupled with Bell
Atlantic's Infospeed DSL service will give customers a very powerful
and valuable high speed networked infrastructure."
Lynksys will provide a full line of HomePNA networking products
including HomeLink V.1 NICs, PCMCIA cards, USB adapters and broadband
Ethernet to phone line bridges. "These products will enhance Bell
Atlantic's complete offering of networking hardware," said Janie Tsao,
Linksys vice president of business development. "Linksys is pleased to
see that Bell Atlantic has developed a strong marketing strategy that
offers the latest and most complete line of networking hardware for DSL
customers."
3Com Corporation, providing its new HomeConnect home networking
product lines spanning Ethernet and phone line applications, will be
offering both solutions for Bell Atlantic's home networking trial. To
simplify network setup and use, 3Com HomeConnect network kits and
adapters include easy-to-use Microsoft HomeClick Network Software,
featuring a step-by-step setup wizard and Network Center application.
With HomeClick Network Software, complex network configuration
functions are transparent to consumers.
"Home-based applications like shared Internet access and printer
sharing will drive the home networking market, requiring robust,
high-speed technologies such as DSL," said Rich Redelfs, vice president
of 3Com's Wireless and Home Connectivity Division. Diamond Multimedia
will provide industry-leading HomeFree PNA-based home networking
products.
Bell Atlantic's home networking trial is scheduled to run six to
eight weeks. Upon completion of the trial, the company hopes to expand
the technology to business customers, using 3Com's Ethernet
application, and introduce a home-networking product by the end of the
year.
HomePNA was established in June 1998. It is an incorporated,
non-profit association of more than 100 industry-leading
companies--spanning the networking, telecommunications, hardware,
software and consumer electronics industries--working towards a single,
unified, phone line networking industry standard and rapidly bring to
market a range of interoperable home networking solutions. HomePNA
technology does not use wiring back to a central hub, such as in a
corporate computer network, and users can simultaneously access the
Internet and make phone calls on the same line. Infospeed DSL is
available in parts of the New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Boston, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas and in parts
of New Jersey. Bell Atlantic will add more communities in the coming
months as part of its plan to make 17 million residential and business
lines DSL-capable by the end of the year throughout its service area.
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