SOHOware Partners With Time Warner Cable To Provide Austin And San Antonio Customers With Comprehensive Broadband Networking Solutions

Market Wire, 20050229

SOHOware, Inc. today announced it has joined with Time Warner Cable to provide residential customers in Austin and San Antonio, Texas, with comprehensive and easy-to-use home networking solutions.

The unprecedented collaborative partnership between Time Warner Cable Road Runner Division and SOHOware establishes a new paradigm for the distribution of comprehensive residential broadband products, services and support in Austin and San Antonio.

Under the terms of the co-marketing agreement, residential customers of Time Warner Road Runner cable in Austin and San Antonio can subscribe to receive the company's high-speed home networking service at special rate of an additional $19.95 per month. As one of the largest high-speed online service providers in the U.S., Road Runner offers networking users secure Internet access up to fifty times faster than conventional telephone modems. Using Road Runner's high-speed online service and a SOHOware residential gateway solution, customers can link up to four computers in their home and all enjoy the benefits of sharing Internet access through a single high-speed Road Runner connection, whether wired or wireless. Customers will be able to purchase products and see live demos at select retail superstores.

"This relationship is indicative of the forward-thinking partnerships that will be necessary to enable the networked home of the future," said Mike Wolf, senior analyst with Cahners In-Stat Group. "Radical simplicity is a prerequisite for mass adoption of home networks, and bringing an integrated service and hardware offering to consumers through the retail channel is a significant step in the right direction."

According to Andy Chang, vice president of marketing at SOHOware, the alliance supports the company's continuing goal to empower consumers by making home networking solutions personal and easy to understand, as well as simple to install and operate.

"By creating this relationship with Time Warner Road Runner online Internet service, SOHOware has taken the complexity out of purchasing and setting up a home networking solution by providing consumers with a true turnkey solution. Now interested customers can go to a neighborhood retailer to learn more about the benefits of home networking solutions, make an informed decision and purchase the SOHOware Broadband Internet Gateway (BIG) and broadband sharing wired or wireless solution that is best for them. With the product well in hand, all that is needed is to call Time Warner Road Runner to get their high-speed home networking services activated," said Chang.

"We are proud to be one of the first cities in the nation to offer this new service to our Road Runner customers", said Steve Farabee, general manager of Time Warner Road Runner Division in Austin. "By participating in this relationship, we will respond to our customers' need for product and service information regarding home networking solutions."

"This alliance gives our customers what they have asked for, a simple solution for their home networking needs", said Phil Jackson, general manager of Time Warner Road Runner Division in San Antonio. "With our new service, we can offer our customers what they want; a personalized home networking solution that is simple to install and operate."

Information regarding SOHOware broadband home networking solutions and their availability at local retailers will be distributed to Time Warner Road Runner cable subscribers in Austin and San Antonio.

About Road Runner

Road Runner (www.roadrunner.com) is the nation's pre-eminent broadband service provider, serving in excess of 730,000 customers in the communities where it is available. It is a joint venture among affiliates of Time Warner Inc., AT&T, Microsoft Corp., Compaq Corp. and Advance/Newhouse. It combines the resources of five partners who are world leaders in media, telecommunications, computer software and hardware and publishing. The Road Runner character is a trademark and copyright of Warner Bros., a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P.

About Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable serves more than 289,000 customers in the Austin and Central Texas area and is part of Time Warner Cable, which owns and manages the world's most advanced, best-clustered cable television operations, with 90 percent of its 12.7 million customer in systems of 100,000 subscribers or more. It is a division of Time Warner Entertainment.

About SOHOware Inc.

SOHOware Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., develops and markets the industry's most complete line of broadband-centric home networking solutions products and self-installation programs, providing the most consumer-friendly networking experience backed by excellent customer service and support for home and small office computer users. SOHOware's broadband-centric home networking solutions family includes the CableStar DOCSIS cable modem, Broadband Internet Gateway, broadband-sharing wired and CableFREE wireless home networking products. The company also plans to launch phoneline broadband solutions.