PairGain Devices Target Home Computer Users
PairGain Technologies Inc., a fast-growing company that makes telecommunications equipment, set its sights on cyberspace Monday by unveiling new devices aimed at giving home computer users faster access to the Internet.
The devices, which will be rolled out later this year, boost the capacity of copper telephone lines so that they can carry computer data and images at faster speeds. PairGain has achieved rapid growth in recent years by selling similar products designed for corporate customers.
Analysts said the new products, called Megabit Modem and EtherPhone, probably won’t be blockbusters right away, but they will position PairGain at the threshold of what could become a huge market in upcoming years.
“The market for residential [high-speed data] service is almost nonexistent now,” said Michael Neiberg, an analyst at Furman Selz in New York City. “But it’s potentially huge and potentially just around the corner. People want faster access to the Internet.”
Like PairGain’s other products, the devices aren’t sold directly to computer users but to the phone companies that increasingly are being called upon to provide phone lines that can carry vast amounts of digitized information and move it quickly.
Neiberg said PairGain’s latest products might help phone companies blunt a challenge from cable television companies to provide high-tech computer connections that enable computer users to do everything from exploring the Internet to transmitting detailed images.
Howard Flagg, president and co-founder of PairGain, said the new devices enable phone companies “to make a quick entry into this market by bringing [high-speed] data services to their customers’ doors.”
The products, which will cost $995 apiece, enable phone companies to get more mileage out of ordinary copper lines, delaying the need to install fiber optic cable or other costly high-capacity lines to homeowners’ doorsteps.
PairGain disclosed last month that the company suffered a $15.9-million loss from what officials said was unauthorized trading by its financial advisor, Capital Insight. Company officials said they are still investigating the matter.
