As Broadband Service Providers Target Public Access Network Markets, SOHOware Inc. Expands Wireless LAN Solutions.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

Cable 2002

SOHOware Booth #3939

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2002

The broadband market is getting broader as service providers narrow their sights on destinations frequented by mobile users of their high-speed Internet access services.

While the public area access market has focused primarily on airports and wired kiosk connectivity until now, advances in wireless LAN (WLAN) technology are creating opportunities for rapid deployment in hotels, convention centers, cafes, campuses, clubs and other locales where notebook computers are a familiar sight.

One of the more promising "hot spots" for cable operators is the hospitality industry, where long-standing business relationships exist for providing television and pay-per-view services. Rather than re-wiring every room in a hotel for broadband, centrally located equipment allows guests to share Internet access from any location on the premises.

Users of home or office wireless LANs arrive with portable computers already equipped for immediate connectivity to the new environment.

For cable multiple service operators (MSOs), many public access network issues are similar to those influencing growth of broadband networks for residential and SOHO markets:

1) how to control installation, maintenance and management costs,

2) how to support smaller business clients that are less than eager to add IT staff, and

3) how to develop a business model that creates additional revenues from their broadband infrastructure.

"The key questions are the same, but the solutions are considerably different," said Andy Chang, vice president of strategic programs at SOHOware Inc., a pioneer in wireless residential/SOHO networks that is now offering public access systems tailored to needs of MSOs.

"You need to have commercial-grade products, you need to build-in enhanced support mechanisms, and you need to keep it simple for the facility owner, as well as service providers and end-users."

The focus today is clearly on the business traveler who wants nothing less than plug-and-play connectivity. Among other benefits, that means no changes to existing configurations and settings, multiple levels of security, VPN pass-through to corporate intranets, instant authentication as a bona fide user by the premises host, and service reliability.

All the user needs to provide is a computer equipped with a network interface card that supports the IEEE 802.11b wireless standard.

To provide a total solution, SOHOware offers hospitality premises equipment that includes a server, router, wireless Ethernet bridge and access points that can each provide coverage for up to 15 rooms. Various field trials are already underway, including one in partnership with a leading East Coast MSO to provide public access network services at a hotel and at marinas covering 200 boat slips.

To ease deployment and support costs for the MSO, the SOHOware solution includes software that enhances self-sufficiency of premises owners in installing and monitoring network equipment, as well as remote management by service providers.

"These capabilities together are expected to reduce the frequency of MSO service calls and the on-site time required for technicians when a service call is necessary," Chang said. "The integrated software also provides a means for MSOs to expand service offerings."

Public access network revenue models are expected to incorporate a wide variety of options, Chang noted, as MSOs have different policies and practices on equipment ownership and service pricing. As far as business travelers are concerned, possible options include pay-per-usage and monthly fees for access anywhere within an MSO's service areas.

"The market for public broadband connectivity is driven by the same societal demands that ignited the cellular phone industry -- uniting the unique requirements to be both increasingly mobile and increasingly productive," said Amy Cravens, an analyst with In-Stat/MDR.

In-Stat/MDR is forecasting revenue for public access network hardware to increase from $3 million in 2000 to more than $80.6 million in 2005, while service revenues are predicted to grow from $4 million to $224.7 million in the same time frame.

SOHOware continues its leadership position as a pioneer in these developing markets, as it has been since 1998 when it adopted a broadband service provider-centric business model. "We're going wherever the cable industry is taking broadband access," Chang said.

About SOHOware

SOHOware was founded in 1990 and its innovations have paced development of the home networking industry since 1996 when it introduced the first personal network products.

In partnership with broadband service and solution providers, the company today is driving mainstream adoption of next generation residential and office networks with a system architecture that addresses end-to-end, life-cycle solutions for delivery and management of shared Internet access, multimedia applications and personalized services.

More than 1 million North American broadband subscribers are powered by SOHOware wired and wireless networking products.