Business Services Industry

2Wire Introduces New Phone Port Adapter, Enabling Virtual Phone Lines Without New Wiring

Business Wire, Dec 18, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 2000

New telephony adapter provides

consumers with easy, affordable way to convert standard telephones

into advanced networked devices

2Wire(TM), Inc. (www.2Wire.com), the leading provider of residential gateways, today announced the new 2Wire Phone Port, a HomePNA 2.0 to POTS telephony adapter designed to provide consumers with an easy and affordable way to convert any standard telephone into an advanced networked device.

"We designed the 2Wire Phone Port to enable consumers who have a residential gateway to take advantage of both current and future enhanced telephony services, such as Voice over IP and Voice over ATM, that are available to them through their broadband connection," said Brian Hinman, president and CEO of 2Wire.

Working in conjunction with a 2Wire HomePortal(TM) residential gateway with Release 2.0 software, the 2Wire Phone Port delivers the enhanced features and functionality of an office phone system to residential customers. By simply plugging a telephone into the 2Wire Phone Port and plugging the Phone Port into a phone jack, any phone can become a networked device when used with 2Wire's HomePortal product. Up to eight Phone Port adapters on the home phone network can be supported by the HomePortal residential gateway.

Leveraging functionality provided by the latest release of software for 2Wire's HomePortal residential gateways, as well as HomePNA 2.0 technology, 2Wire's Phone Port enables standard telephones to perform PBX-like functions, such as call forwarding to an answering machine or network-based voicemail, call blocking, and room-to-room dialing.

Pricing and Availability

The 2Wire Phone Port adapter will be available in Q1 2001 through 2Wire distribution partners for a suggested list price of US$99.00 each. Three 2Wire Phone Port adapters are included with the new 2Wire ICS 2000 integrated communication system.

About 2Wire

2Wire, Inc. delivers a full suite of broadband products for home, home office and small office environments. 2Wire's market-leading HomePortal products are the first intelligent residential gateways to integrate the wealth of options available through the Internet and create a complete home data, voice, and entertainment network. 2Wire's web site (www.2Wire.com) offers comprehensive information on DSL, the future of broadband services and home networking, and one of the most complete and accurate DSL look-up services in the United States.

2Wire was recently named Technology Partners Technology Outlook Investor's Choice for the second consecutive year. The company has also been recognized as one of the Hot 100 Private Companies by Upside magazine. The 2Wire HomePortal series was recognized with three significant honors at CES 2000, including Best of Show.