SWAP 1.0 Ratification Sets Stage for Development of Next Generation Wireless Home Networking Products; Companies Commit to Build SWAP Compatible Products

Home Radio Frequency Working Group Completes and Ratifies SWAP Specification Version 1.0

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5, 1999 - Ushering in a new era in wireless home networking, the HomeRF Working Group (HomeRF WG) today announced the ratification of the Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP) specification 1.0 and that 13 companies have committed to build products based on SWAP. The SWAP specification provides an open platform that enables a broad range of interoperable consumer devices for wireless voice and data communications in the home. Member companies that are actively developing SWAP-based products are: Butterfly Communications, Compaq Computer Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, iReady Corporation, Microsoft, Motorola, OTC Telecom, Proxim, Samsung, Symbionics and Symbol Technologies. The HomeRF WG anticipates the first SWAP-based wireless devices will reach the marketplace by the end of 1999.

"The completion of the SWAP 1.0 specification is a major step toward making wireless home networking a reality," said Ben Manny of Intel Corporation, chairman of the HomeRF WG. "The Working Group is committed to answering the home networking market's evolving needs and creating the most robust solution possible. Today, SWAP 1.0 provides developers the technical foundation needed to create products that can interoperate in a wireless manner in and around the home, expanding the utility of the Home PC and traditional home appliances such as the cordless phone."

"The proliferation of PCs in the home and the strong desire to share and distribute Internet content anywhere in the home is driving the need for home networking solutions," said Van Baker, principal analyst at Gartner Group's Dataquest. "Wireless solutions are excellent platforms to extend home networking for mobile devices around the home and into the yard, complementing phoneline and powerline networking solutions."

Enabling Wireless Connectivity in the Home
Through SWAP, consumer electronics and small appliances in and around the home will contain technology that will enable them to "talk" to each other without being tethered to the existing wiring in the home while distributing the power of the PC throughout the home. For example, a mobile display pad linked to the Internet could access recipe information in the kitchen, be taken into the yard to assist with plant and disease identification in the garden, or into the garage for the do-it-yourselfer looking for the latest automobile mechanical updates.

"For new home devices to be truly successful, Microsoft believes that they must interoperate with other products seamlessly," said Rick Thompson, vice president of Microsoft's Hardware Division. "Interoperable home networking standards will create new product opportunities for Microsoft and for many of our business partners. We're actively participating in HomeRF in order to build an affordable, interoperable foundation for home networking."

Future Steps
The HomeRF WG will now begin the final process of verification and validation of the SWAP 1.0 specification through the development and compliance testing of SWAP-compatible devices. The group has also started broad recruitment of new adopter members to develop consumer devices based on SWAP. Companies wishing to build SWAP-compliant products can become adopter members of the HomeRF WG. Membership agreements can be downloaded from the HomeRF WG Web site at http://www.homerf.org. The first HomeRF WG Adopter's Conference will be held on Feb. 22, 1999 at the DoubleTree Hotel in San Jose, Calif., preceding the 1999 Wireless Symposium at the San Jose Convention Center.

About The HomeRF Working Group
Launched in March 1998, The Home Radio Frequency Working Group has developed a single foundation (the Shared Wireless Access Protocol specification) for a broad range of interoperable consumer devices. The SWAP specification is an open, royalty free, standard that allows PCs, peripherals, cordless telephones and other consumer electronic devices to communicate and interoperate with one another without the complication and expense associated with running new wires. The current membership of the group exceeds 70 companies and is made up of leading companies across the PC, consumer electronics, networking, peripherals, communications, software, home control and semiconductor industries worldwide. For more information and a complete list of members, please visit the Web site at http://www.homerf.org.

HomeRF is a trademark of the Home Radio Frequency Working Group.