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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: djane who wrote (50244)	7/21/1998 1:34:00 AM
From: Bindusagar Reddy	Respond to of 61433

zdnet.com ISPs Push Hardware Bundles By Ben Elgin, Sm@rt Reseller Internet service providers (ISPs) who are experimenting with hardware bundles are finding the payoff to be positive. Netcom On-Line Communication Services Inc., for example, is claiming that 30 percent of its business now comes from connectivity solutions bundled with software and hardware, as well as indirect sales. After dabbling in simple software bundles for several years, Netcom is diving into the hardware bundling arena, occasionally proffering its connectivity solutions with the likes of Cisco Systems Inc. and Lucent Technologies Inc. According to Netcom execs, packaging basic connectivity hardware is essential for small businesses that may not know which router or modem will work best with their connectivity solutions. "Often, small businesses don't know what they don't know. So bundling is crucial for putting the solution in context for the customer," says Alene Dishon, Netcom's director of channel sales. Fellow business ISP PSINet Inc. is also tinkering with various hardware bundling offers, packaging Net access with routers from Intel Corp. and Ascend Communications Inc. But, unlike Netcom, PSINet is banking on big-name distributors to sell the products, rather than relying on a joint sales program. Nonetheless, the jury is still out on PSINet's bundling strategy, as its Intel package was introduced less than one month ago and its Ascend bundle is being officially unveiled today. But company officials are optimistic, as PSINet has already netted 25 new business customers through its young Intel rogram.