2Wire, SBC ink deal 

ATLANTA—SBC and 2Wire announced today that they have signed a deal under which SBC will provide 2Wire’s residential gateway to DSL customers throughout its territories.

As part of the deal, new customers calling for DSL service will be asked how many PCs they have in the home and whether they would like to connect all of them to the high-speed access line. A positive answer will route them to a home networking specialist, who can sell one of two 2Wire devices.

SBC initially will sell the devices, which start at $199, in its Pacific Bell and Southwestern Bell territories. The company will begin offering the boxes to Ameritech and SNET customers over the next few months.

For 2Wire, the deal is the first major contract with a telco, though it has done a market trial with Verizon.

“In Verizon’s case, they sold it as an add-on to your phone bill,” said Roy Johnson, vice president of marketing and business development for 2Wire. “In SBC’s case, it’s more of a straight sell.”

SBC will have two options for customers—the HomePortal 100, which lets users connect up to a dozen PCs to a broadband connection and a wireless version that gives users mobility within the home.

“They work through the whole line provisioning process and once they’ve determined that the person can be served, they’ll ship a self-install kit,” said Johnson.

SBC may subsidize the cost of the gateways in an effort to plunge deeper into the home networking market, though exactly how much is undetermined, said Johnson.

“You’ve got to be careful that you don’t over-subsidize,” he said.
Vince Vittore is Executive Editor for Telephony. He can be reached at vvittore@intertec.com.