Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Home Networking Still in the Early Adopter Stage

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2003 17:03:22 -0400

Home Networking Still in the Early Adopter Stage, Survey Finds The Yankee
Group's 2002 Technologically Advanced Family Survey found that eight percent of
PC owners reported having a home network - a 43 percent increase over 2001.
Twenty-five percent of those who did not have home networks aid they were
interested in the technology, 20 percent said they were neutral, and five
percent were unsure. Fifty percent of those who did not have home networks said
they had no interest in them. "Product and service companies must gain traction
among early adopters, not only to drive near-term sales growth, but to establish
brand recognition and secure channel relationships," says Dominic Ainscough,
Yankee Group Consumer Technologies & Services senior analyst. "Device
manufacturers, service providers, and retailers can spur home networking
adoption most effectively by applying needs-based segmentation to identify
consumers with the greatest interest and who are most likely to purchase in the
near term."

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boston.internet.com/news/article.php/2178271

Home Networks Hold Promise,
Challenges for Vendors
By boston.internet.com Staff
April 8, 2003

The number of networked homes
jumped 43 percent in 2002, but the
technology is still in the "early
adopter" stage, according to The
Yankee Group.

The Boston IT researcher said 8
percent of PC owners surveyed last
year had a home network. The
increase is due to broadband
adoptions and families with more
than one computer who want to be
online concurrently.

Of those without a home network, 25 percent were interested in the technology,
20 percent were neutral and 5 percent unsure. Half of the respondents said they
were not interested, The Yankee Group found.

Twelve percent of those interested in home networks said they intended to buy
now, 36 percent in the next year, and 12 percent in the next one or two years,
The Yankee Group said. The remaining 37 percent didn't know when they'd buy.

Dominic Ainscough, a consumer technologies and services analyst at The Yankee
Group, said it's a critical time for companies with aspirations in the space.

"Product and service companies must gain traction among early adopters, not only
to drive near-term sales growth, but to establish brand recognition and secure
channel relationships," Ainscough said.

Others, including retailers, need to identify which consumers are most likely to
buy soon, he added.
Though households do not assign the same level of importance to audio, video and
gaming as productivity applications, entertainment is a promising area, Yankee
said. The growth is contingent, however, on more households buying home
networks.

The trend, though still in its early stages, isn't lost on the IT industry's
heavy hitters.  Last month, Cisco Systems (Quote, Company Info) paid $500
million in stock for Linksys Group, a maker of wireless routers, access points
and other equipment for home networking.

Among the reasons Cisco chose to buy rather than build was the fear that its
competitors would make a buy and gain a foothold in the market before Cisco was
ready. Late last year Microsoft (Quote, Company Info) had made a foray into the
sector.

Previously, Cisco has avoided the consumer market, designing its equipment for
bulk buyers such as telecom carriers and enterprises.