Belkin to launch 802.11g pre-N products in India

16 Dec 2004 00:00 IST

New Update

Belkin Corporation, will be the first to launch its wireless 802.11g Pre-N products in India through a product and technology road-show starting in Delhi and moving on to Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai in Q1 2005.

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Pre-N-based wireless products are yet to be ratified as a standard. “It is certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance for its inter-operability with existing Wi-Fi technologies including 802.11b and 802.11g,” said Louis Lye, Territory Manager, Asia Pacific, Belkin Corporation.

According to Louis, Indian customers will accept the un-ratified Pre-N products because it offers better performance over the current wireless products available in the market. The Pre-N line of products consist of wireless router and wireless notebook network card, which guarantee eight times wider coverage and six times faster speeds than all other wireless products in the market today. Pre-N products are powered by Airgo Network’s True MIMO technology, which improve wireless reliability and performance, and enable users to work with high-bandwidth applications, such as audio and video streaming. It also supports seamless backward compatibility with 802.11b and 802.11g.

LOUIC LYE

Indaian customers accepting Pre-N because of better perfomance over other wireless products

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During this road-show, Belkin will also introduce its enterprise and small-mid-size business KVM switches and many large ranges of consumer electronic products like PureAV audio, video cables. “The aim is to set up a channels strategy for both IT and consumer electronics,” said Louis.

To start with, Belkin intends to engage more resellers for its products via new channel programs called the Belkin Authorized Reseller Program (BAR), which essentially entails providing regular product information and solutions as well as access to demonstration units on selected products. Belkin aims to sign up to 300 such resellers in each major city in India. Another strategy Belkin will focus on would be in the area of enhancing technical support for end-customers as well as resellers via training, email and telephone support.

“As for new distribution partners, Belkin will continue to assess interest from interested distributors subject to their channel coverage in various market segments in India,” said Louis. Meanwhile, Carrypac Asia Pacific India will continue to function as Belkin’s sales, marketing and technical support hub for India.

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No certification for
pre-N equipment

The Wi-Fi Alliance in a recent online report has categorically stated that it will not support any product that supports 802.11n until IEEE gives its final go on the standard. Without referring to any specific vendor, the Wi-Fi Alliance reiterated that it would decertify all products that offer pre-N capabilities or if it is not interoperable with certified products. According to Frank Hanzlik, MD, Wi-Fi Alliance, they have taken this decision as ‘pre-standard products always present an inherent risk for technology adopters.’

“With offices in Singapore and HongKong, we can ensure suitable technical support capabilities for growth of our products in India,” said Louis.

NELSON JOHNY