Linksys Beefs Up Network Wireless Play: Page 2 of 3

On the partnership front, Linksys inked a deal with Boingo Wireless on a joint Hot Spot in a Box program. The program creates commercial Wi-Fi hot-spot business opportunities for home network integrators targeting small businesses that want to make high-speed wireless Internet access available to their customers.

John Foeldi, vice president of operations at Total Business Integration, a Linksys solution provider in Orange, Calif., is excited about the Boingo opportunity and the new product lineup. "[The Gateway] is going to allow us to network the home for less money and make it a little easier," he says. "Right now it's expensive to get the three separate offerings." He estimates the offering could save customers that were looking at the three separate products as much as $150.

Finally, Linksys inked a pact with Comcast to include the Wireless G Cable Gateway in a Comcast Home Networking offering to millions of high-speed Internet customers. Comcast customers who sign up for the service receive a Linksys Wireless G Cable Gateway, along with network adapters for connecting up to five computers. The service includes installation, multiple levels of security, and increased downstream speed of up to 4 Mbps.

Some VARs say they expect to gain additional business from customers who want deeper and more personal local service than Comcast can provide. In addition, customers may opt to buy the product from solution providers rather than lease it from Comcast as part of a package, Powell says.

Tom Derosier, co-owner of CPUGuys, a Hanson, Mass., integrator, predicts Comcast is going to run into problems if it does not not embrace digital integrators. "If Comcast offered this through white-box builders and integrators, it would have a chance of being successful for everybody," he says. "If they don't, they are going to have lots of technical trouble out there that they are not going to be able to solve."