Netscape to Increase Prices on Products

Netscape Communications Corp. announced price hikes on three key products to boost revenue, betting that businesses will pay more for sophisticated offerings. The Mountain View-based company will raise the price of its enhanced Communicator browsing software to $59 from $49. The price of its Enterprise Server will jump to $1,295 from $995, and its SuiteSpot group of servers to $4,995 from $3,995. Netscape plans to get revenue from every product and every client that uses its products, a spokesman said. That’s a departure from its strategy of giving away browser software to gain market share. The added revenue will allow Netscape to increase customer service offerings, which are becoming more important as it focuses on sales to business customers, analysts said. Netscape shares rose $87.5 cents to close at $35.625 in Nasdaq trading.