3Com and Concentric Network Form Strategic Alliance to Deliver Bundled DSL Solutions to Small and Medium Sized U.S. Businesses - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, Nov 1, 1999

3Com Corporation announced Tuesday at ISPCon tradeshow in San Jose, Calif., that it has formed a strategic alliance with Concentric Network Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a leading provider of e-business solutions, to deliver bundled Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) solutions to U.S. small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). The alliance combines ConcentricDSL service, a high-speed, `always on' Internet access solution, with 3Com's OfficeConnect Remote 840 SDSL Router. This complete, bundled service is available now and is sold through 3Com's extensive channel of more than 45,000 resellers focusing on selling services and solutions to the SMB U.S. market.

Since the launch of ConcentricDSL in late 1997, Concentric has aggressively extended its deployment portfolio to over 18 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, D.C. By leveraging its technical experience and established relationships with carriers, Concentric has emerged as the provider of choice among the business community. Now Concentric Network enhances its business-grade DSL service by teaming with 3Com Corporation, bundling the OfficeConnect Remote 840 SDSL Router with ConcentricDSL.

"Combining the strengths of 3Com's channel partners with Concentric Network's established presence in the DSL service market will enable both companies to easily deploy a reliable, high-speed networking solution to growing businesses demanding greater bandwidth for critical business applications," said Edgar Masri, senior vice president and general manager, 3Com, Network Systems Business Unit.

"We are excited about teaming with 3Com to provide a complete, bundled solution that meets the unique needs of small and medium sized businesses," said Mark Fisher, senior vice president and general manager of Concentric's network services division. "We are benefiting from 3Com's networking expertise, in addition to their vast reseller network, which shares our same dedication to the SMB space. In fact, Cahner's/In-Stat ranked 3Com as the number one networking hardware vendor for small businesses (5-99 employees) in their September Networking Vendor Small Business Rankings report, largely resulting from 3Com's channel marketing muscle."

The bundled Concentric/3Com DSL solution will be sold through 3Com's extensive network of resellers. 3Com's netWorking Partners program provides resellers with free training, marketing and technical support, and sales tools. To date, 3Com has recruited more than 45,000 resellers with a stated interest in selling and recommending to businesses with fewer that 100 employees. To facilitate the success of this alliance, DSL demo offers are available to allow resellers to fully demonstrate and evaluate this bundled DSL solution. These demo offerings will enable resellers to confidently recommend this business-grade DSL bundle.

Concentric/3Com DSL Demo Offer The DSL demo offer, available exclusively for resellers, includes two months of free ConcentricDSL service from Concentric Network, plus the local loop and Internet access charge. Additionally, 3Com's OfficeConnect Remote 840 SDSL Router is available at a discount of 62% from Concentric. The DSL demo is available immediately. Resellers interested in reselling this bundle are advised to register as Concentric IMPACT Partners, since this will provide them with full access to information about Concentric's complete suite of e-business services.

For more information about Concentric's IMPACT Partner program visit Concentric's web site at www.concentric.net. For information on 3Com Corporation's channel partner program call 800/NET-3COM.

3Com's OfficeConnect Family OfficeConnect is the No. 1 selling small business networking brand in the United States according to industry analysts, New York City-based AMI, and, to date, more than 15 million ports have been shipped worldwide. There are more than 30 solutions in the product family portfolio, including the recently announced OfficeConnect Remote 840 SDSL Router. Eleven other new and enhanced products were announced in September 1999. 3Com's OfficeConnect small business networking solutions enable people to easily connect PCs, to the Internet, the office and voice networks, anytime, anywhere.

The OfficeConnect Remote 840 SDSL Router is a full-featured bridge and IP/IPX router with an integrated four-port Ethernet hub offering symmetrical high-speed access to information for multiple users over digital subscriber lines.

"Concentric is known for its DSL service and strong service performance, making our decision to work together quite simple," said Kathy Graves, vice president of channel sales for 3Com. "3Com's OfficeConnect Remote 840 SDSL Router is ideally suited for Concentric's suite of DSL offerings and we expect the bundle will drive extensive demand, which our reseller channel is well-positioned to address."