A new range of entry-level networking products is to be available in local retail stores from this month, putting wireless networking within the reach of the home and small office market.
The move is the result of the arrival in SA of Cisco`s consumer division, Linksys, and an agreement with a local chain of computer retail stores.
In addition to the retail presence, Linksys is aiming to expand its home and small business market into SA through newly appointed channel partners.
"The Linksys Internet camera for online monitoring, the wireless ADSL gateway and the wireless media gateway products are among those that will be available to the local retail market to promote the concept of the wireless home," says Dave Kelly, Linksys sales director for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Kelly says the wireless home is a core competency of Linksys, which is ranked as the US market leader by NPD Techworld consumer information index, followed by Netgear and D-Link. He says this, coupled with Cisco`s connectivity knowledge, enables Linksys to deliver a competitive product that is self-configuring and easy to use.
"We no longer have to talk about the wireless home as being something of the future, it is already a reality," says Kelly. "Local users are as savvy as anywhere else and we expect an accelerated adoption once the products and broadband services become available."
Kelly emphasises that the wireless home is about more than Internet access. "It`s about the content than can be delivered into the home as well as the flexibility it delivers in terms of mobility, printer and file sharing, and the delivery of digital sound and video to any room."
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