DSL: 3Com, Copper Mountain Networks Announce Strategic Alliance; NorthPoint is First Customer to Select 3Com/Copper Mountain SDSL Solution for Business Customers - Company Business and Marketing

EDGE, On & About AT&T, Dec 7, 1998

3Com Corp. and Copper Mountain Networks Wednesday announced a strategic alliance for developing and marketing Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) customer premise equipment (CPE).

Under the terms of the agreement, 3Com will develop and distribute, through its standard reseller channels, a line of CPE compatible with Copper Mountain's DSL Access Concentrator. The first member of this product line, the 3Com SDSL modem, is based on Copper Mountain's CopperRocket 201 SDSL access device.

In a move that will spur deployment of SDSL, NorthPoint Communications, a leading Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) is the first CLEC to deploy the combined 3Com/Copper Mountain end-to-end solution.

The 3Com/Copper Mountain alliance has been well received by Copper Mountain's carrier customers. "As a wholesale provider of data transport, NorthPoint works with a number of network service provider partners nationwide to deliver high-speed Internet access services to business end users," said John Stormer, vice president of marketing at NorthPoint Communications. "The 3Com/Copper Mountain alliance will result in a wider variety of cost-effective, compatible CPE choices for our NSP partners."

The DSL Access Solution of Choice for Growing Businesses The 3Com/Copper Mountain family of DSL CPE targets small- and medium-sized businesses which require an Internet access and/or Enterprise VPN solution that is faster than dial-up, easier to use than ISDN, and more affordable than today's T-1 or fractional T-1 alternatives. The multi-speed technology of the 3Com SDSL modem provides a range of bandwidths from 128 kbps to 1.544 Mbps over ordinary copper telephone wires. Critical applications such as file transfers, intranet access, Internet Web browsing and data warehouse queries operate as if the user were working at a corporate office.

"3Com's entry into the SDSL market greatly increases our ability to meet the requirements of our small- to medium-sized business customers by enabling affordable high-speed Internet and network connectivity," said Al Brisard, director of marketing and business development for 3Com's new business initiatives group. "By partnering with Copper Mountain, 3Com can immediately offer more DSL solutions to its existing customer base and extend its leadership in the high-growth small- and mid-sized business market."

"3Com gained its leadership in the access marketplace by developing easy-to-use, high-quality products and distributing them through legendary, well-trained distribution channels," said Rick Gilbert, president and CEO of Copper Mountain Networks. "That makes 3Com an outstanding partner for Copper Mountain. 3Com has the reputation -- and the reach -- to capitalize on the cost-effective, high-speed DSL solutions developed by Copper Mountain, and to accelerate DSL deployment we've already achieved with customers such as NorthPoint Communications, UUNET WorldCom, ICG Netcom and Rhythms NetConnections."

With more than 200 million customers worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people to information in more ways than any other networking company. 3Com delivers innovative information access products and network system solutions to large, medium and small enterprises; carriers and network service providers; PC OEMs; and consumers. FMI: www.3com.com.

Founded in January 1996 with offices in Palo Alto and San Diego, Copper Mountain Networks, Inc. develops and markets a comprehensive family of DSL solutions that enable high-speed internetworking over existing copper facilities. The company's mission is to enable carriers and other service providers to offer a range of high-performance, cost-effective DSL services that are easy to deploy, use, and manage. Copper Mountain's CopperRocket family addresses the bandwidth, reliability, ease-of-use, and cost concerns of remote offices and users. Its carrier-class CopperEdge and CopperView solutions offer a robust and scalable platform for carriers to satisfy the ever-increasing user demand for bandwidth, while generating a high return on investment. FMI: http://www.coppermountain.com.