Firms Announce Strategic Relationship Covering Shared Broadband Internet
Access and Movement of Digital Voice, Video, Music and Data Around the Home
SAN DIEGO and IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Gateway, Inc.
(NYSE: GTW) and Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM) have formed a strategic
partnership to make it easy for the average person to connect to the Internet
and to every digital device in their home or home office at broadband speed
using existing telephone lines.
The companies also plan to jointly develop and market additional products
and services that enable and enhance the connected home and office, including
products that will move streaming audio and video content between music
players, TVs, PCs, cable modems and Internet appliances. They also plan to
deliver IP telephony (VoIP) in the home and office. This cooperation will
speed up the delivery of competitive local and long distance voice services,
via the Internet, to the home or office.
In the bold first step of this strategic technology relationship, Gateway
now ships 10 megabit home networking based on the industry-leading Broadcom(R)
BCM4211 chipset as standard, at no additional cost, with Gateway Select and
Performance consumer desktop PCs. The inclusion of Home Phoneline Networking
Alliance 2.0 (HomePNA 2.0) silicon makes it possible for customers to connect
-- easily and seamlessly -- Gateway PCs and forthcoming Internet appliances to
each other and to the Internet at broadband speed.
This first-of-its-kind product deployment gives customers the ability to
share Internet access, printers and other peripherals by simply plugging a
HomePNA 2.0-equipped Gateway PC into a standard telephone line. Using HomePNA
2.0 technology, which has been ratified by a consortium of more than
155 leading technology companies, Gateway PCs and Internet appliances
facilitate networking without installation of cumbersome cables or activation
of additional phone service. HomePNA 2.0 is designed so that a PC
"conversation" with other devices in the home can occur simultaneously without
interfering with a voice conversation on the same telephone line.
"Our partnership with Gateway is a major step forward in transforming the
PC from a 'computing island' to a connected multimedia appliance," said Dr.
Henry T. Nicholas III, President and CEO of Broadcom Corporation. "This isn't
about simply sharing data or web access. It's about sharing music, video and
telephone calls, with all existing household phones, TVs and stereos. The
inclusion of Broadcom multimedia home networking as standard equipment on
millions of Gateway PCs will transform phone wiring in millions of homes into
a rich information and entertainment network."
"We've said for some time that networking is a key element in our vision
of the connected home, and we're proud to partner with a technology leader
like Broadcom to help bring that vision to life here and now. The companies
are very aligned in their strategic vision and look forward to working on
several additional projects to bring this vision to millions of consumers,"
said Jeff Weitzen, president and chief executive officer of Gateway.
About Gateway
Gateway (NYSE: GTW), a Fortune 250 company founded in 1985, focuses on
building lifelong relationships with consumers and businesses through complete
technology personalization. Gateway ranked number one in U.S. consumer PC
revenue in 1999 (1) and was rated among the top ten best corporate reputations
in America according to a survey conducted in August of 1999 by Harris
Interactive and the Reputation Institute and published in The Wall Street
Journal. In 1999, Gateway was seventh in total return to shareholders among
Fortune 500 companies and tenth in total shareholder returns over the past
five years. (2) Gateway employees worldwide provide clients with services and
built-to-order computers that consistently win top awards from leading
industry publications. Gateway had total global revenue of $8.65 billion in
1999. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.gateway.com
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is the leading provider of highly integrated silicon
solutions that enable broadband digital transmission of voice, video, and
data. Using proprietary technologies and advanced design methodologies, the
company designs, develops and supplies integrated circuits for a number of the
most significant broadband communications markets, including the markets for
cable set-top boxes, cable modems, high-speed local, metropolitan and wide
area networks, home networking, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), carrier
access, residential broadband gateways, direct broadcast satellite and
terrestrial digital broadcast, optical networking, digital subscriber lines
(xDSL) and wireless communications. Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine,
Calif., and can be contacted at 949-450-8700 or at http://www.broadcom.com.
Special Note
The above statements include forward-looking statements based on current
management expectations from both companies. Factors that could cause future
results to differ from these expectations include the following: general
economic conditions; growth in the companies' respective industries;
competitive factors and pricing pressures; component supply shortages; risks
relating to new or acquired businesses and joint ventures; and inventory risks
due to shifts in market demand. Additional factors are described in the
companies' reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
(1) According to GartnerGroup/Dataquest US PC Quarterly statistics.
(2) According to Fortune Magazine, April 17, 2000.
SOURCE Gateway, Inc.; Broadcom Corporation
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.gateway.com
CONTACT:
Adam Stein, cell/office, 408-209-7377,
astein@broadcom.com, or Bill Blanning, office, 949-585-5555,
blanning@broadcom.com, both of Broadcom; or John Spelich, cell,
858-354-2657, office, 858-799-2657, john.spelich@gateway.com, or
Brad Shaw, cell, 619-743-3957, office, 858-799-3957,
brad.shaw@gateway.com, both of Gateway.
|
