Netopia Launches eCare 4.5 Support Software With Superior Ease of Use; eCare Enables Contact-Center and Help Desk Agents to Reach Across the Internet to the Desktop for Hands-On Problem Resolution

Business Wire, Sept 12, 2006

PARIS -- Netopia, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTPA), a market leader in broadband service assurance solutions, announced version 4.5 of its popular eCare remote support application, which it will be showcasing at Apple Expo Paris, along with its award-winning Timbuktu(R) Pro peer-to-peer remote-control-software solution. eCare is a Web-enabled remote support solution that makes it possible for contact-center and help desk agents to reach across a broadband connection and directly access Windows or Macintosh desktops to resolve hardware and software issues. Unlike other desktop-to-desktop support solutions, eCare doesn't require any software to be installed on end-user machines, making it easy for support agents to access remote computers for efficient and effective problem solving. Additional new features, like e-mailed help session invitations and the ability to reconnect to in-progress help sessions if disconnected, make eCare the easiest to use of all available support software solutions.

"We've been using eCare since 2002 to support our BakeSmart point-of-sale and bakery-management software, making eCare critical to assuring the success of our customers who rely on our software to run their businesses every day," said Ray Clements, president and CEO of Legacy Software. "We like eCare's ability to offer support to both Macintosh and Windows customers from any desktop without having to install custom software beforehand, it makes supporting our software applications easy and painless, for both us and our customers."

Designed for service providers, call center outsourcers and help desks, eCare is continually enhanced to incorporate new features that make it applicable to any support environment, and was the first solution to provide out-of-the-box support for both Mac Safari and Windows Internet Explorer browsers, as well as Mac Intel systems. From exclusive new features in the browser interface, to enhanced support-session management, to improved connection speeds and more detailed reporting options, the new eCare 4.5 ensures that customer issues are resolved more quickly and satisfactorily than ever before.

"Contact center agents and customers often become frustrated as agents try to help customers troubleshoot complex problems with their computers," says Sheila McGee-Smith, president of McGee-Smith Analytics, a contact-center consultancy. "Remote control solutions that can be set up very easily -- like by just clicking on a link in an e-mail, as allowed by eCare 4.5 -- can reduce this frustration, as well as reduce call handle time and improve customer care."

New features in eCare 4.5 include:

--Client reconnect to original eCare ticket after agent reboot of client system to further speed resolution

--Reconnect after dropped eCare communication eliminates the need for the client to submit a new ticket to a different representative

--eCare support initiation via e-mailed session ticket provides more options to initiate sessions

--Optional pre- and post-session customer surveys improve the overall quality of service and customer experience

--Custom agent- and customer-login messaging provide up-to-date news and information alerts

eCare is targeted at ISPs, applications service providers, contact center outsourcing companies, and PC software and peripheral companies. eCare is optimized to work across a range of Microsoft and Apple operating systems and PC hardware platforms. eCare is ideal for situations where a customer care incident has escalated, allowing the contact-center agent to actively control a remote desktop for precise problem solving.

"Netopia's own customer care center has proven to be a demanding real-world test site and played a key role in the development of eCare's expanded functionality," said Christopher Thompson, vice president of marketing at Netopia. "eCare delivers a powerful customer support tool, not only to traditional service providers and call centers, but to software and hardware developers like ourselves. When eCare is coupled with the power of our NBBS automated configuration and management software, ISPs using TR-069 can not only offer cutting-edge support, but can control and configure customer gateways and desktops from their own contact centers for enhanced remote troubleshooting and administration."

eCare is available from Netopia immediately in North America and Europe. Customers may purchase the software as a hosted solution or as licensed software. Pricing starts at approximately $300 per month, per agent for a hosted solution. Live demonstrations of eCare can be seen now at the Apple Expo in Paris. Netopia staff will be available in the Apple Business Solutions Pavilion to demonstrate eCare 4.5 and Timbuktu 8.6 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 12, through Saturday, Sept. 16.

About Netopia

Netopia, Inc. delivers broadband service assurance solutions through high-performance broadband customer premises equipment and carrier-class remote device management and support software. Netopia's broadband gateways feature advanced technology, high reliability, and remote manageability to assure delivery of triple-play and IPTV services. Netopia's service assurance software platforms empower carriers, service providers, and enterprises with remote device management, centralized support, and value-added services to speed deployment of innovative new broadband applications across home and business networks. Netopia has established strategic distribution relationships with leading carriers and broadband service providers, including AT&T, BellSouth, Covad Communications, eircom, Swisscom, and Verizon.