Mushroom shrinks broadband bonding gear for SMBs

Mushroom Networks today introduced a half-sized version of its broadband bonding appliance designed for small and medium business users (SMBs).

Mushroom debuted its flagship product, Truffle, in February. A customer-premises-only appliance, Truffle allows users to bond multiple broadband lines of various types --including DSL, cable modem, T-1 and wireless broadband -- to increase speeds.

Whereas the Truffle included six wireline ports and one USB port for wireless broadband such as CDMA or HSPA, the new Porcini device includes four wireline ports and a USB for wireless. That gives Porcini users a potential download speed of up to 30 Mb/s, according to Mushroom.

And whereas the Truffle was priced at just under $3000, the Porcini will sell for just under $1600.

“Just think: Combine two DSL lines with two cable modem lines for under $200 dollars per month,” said Cahit Akin, co-founder and CEO of Mushroom Networks, in a prepared statement. “That’s 20 times faster than traditional T-1 service for about half the price.”

The device, which is shipping now, also includes a built-in voice-over-IP quality manager and an internal router and firewall.