Motorola to Develop Broadband Home Networking Gateways; New Product Integrates a Cable Modem with "no new wires" in-home Networking

Business Wire, Dec 2, 1998

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 2, 1998--Motorola. Inc., (NYSE: MOT) today announced that it has launched a new home networking initiative for the residential market to build broadband information gateways that will enable shared broadband access to the Internet. These gateways will be a new class of product that integrates a cable modem with a "no new wires" in-home data network. They will allow families with multiple PCs to simultaneously surf the Internet, play interactive games and subscribe to emerging low-cost IP telephony services.

Motorola's gateways will extend the benefits of broadband Internet services to all members of a household. Families will be able to access the Internet from any room in their home wirelessly or over their existing telephone or electrical wiring using a single broadband information gateway. These in-home networks will enable data, voice, and video services throughout the home with "no new wires."

"The 'no new wires' home networking technologies are a key to Motorola's strategy for connecting PCs, VoIP phones, and other Internet-aware devices in the home to the broadband cable network," said Vedat Eyuboglu, vice president of Motorola's Home Networking Product Operation. "Our gateways will give consumers a cost effective means of sharing access to the Internet without incurring the inconvenience and high-cost of rewiring their homes."

"Motorola has established itself as a leader in deploying broadband access technology," said Boyd Peterson, Director of Consumer Networking at the Yankee Group, a leading market research firm that tracks the consumer computer and networking markets. "The company is now poised to extend its expertise into the burgeoning field of home networking. With Motorola's products consumers will find instant benefit in the combination of powerful broadband connections and in-home networking connectivity."

The gateway's highly reliable architecture will also allow consumers to use IP telephony services with a look and feel identical to today's phone service. "Our gateways will provide standard telephones and Internet appliances with access to the integrated voice and data networks currently being built by cable MSO's and telecommunications carriers, " said Randy Battat, senior vice president and general manager of Motorola's Internet and Networking Group.

Separately, Motorola announced it is licensing technology from Tut Systems for home networking over in-home telephone wiring. The Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HPNA) recently adopted Tut System's technology as its standard for a 1 Mb/s Ethernet technology operating over existing home phone wiring. Motorola is a member of HPNA, HomeRF and Bluetooth, the leading industry groups developing interoperability standards for in-home networking.

Motorola will demonstrate wireless and wireline gateways at the 1998 Western Cable Show in Anaheim, CA at the Motorola booth (#2101).

About Motorola

Motorola's Internet and Networking Group (ING) delivers smart access technology to connect people and organizations in a world of converging communications. ING provides a full complement of wireline and wireless access solutions, including broadband, corporate networking, platform software and Internet content services. Motorola is a global leader in advanced electronic systems and services. It creates software-driven products that provide integrated customer solutions and Internet access via wireless and satellite communications, as well as computing, networking, and automotive electronics. Motorola also liberates the power of technology by providing essential digital building blocks in the form of embedded semiconductors, controls and systems. Sales in 1997 were $29.8 billion.