SAN FRANCISCO - September 29, 2004 -Linksys®, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc., the leading provider of broadband, wireless and networking hardware for the consumer, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and small business markets, today announced several new industry relationships and products that will greatly expand the potential of home networking and help drive the adoption of consumer Voice-over-IP (VoIP).

Linksys announced that Verizon, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, will offer the Linksys Phone Adapter with 2 Phone Ports (PAP2) to customers that sign up for Verizon's new VoiceWing VoIP service. The service would allow Verizon customers to make low-cost, high quality calls over broadband Internet connections. Verizon customers simply plug their phone into the adapter and the adapter into their DSL or cable modem to make VoIP calls. For details, see press release, "Phone Adapters from Linksys will Give Verizon VoiceWing Customers More Features and Simpler Installation"

Advances in home networking technology and the growing availability of broadband have helped create market demand for a burgeoning new service called voice networking or VoIP. VoIP enables consumers to make phone calls using their broadband Internet connection with the same quality as traditional phone service -- making VoIP calls as easy as picking up the phone. Today's announcement with Verizon is just the latest in a series of announcements between Linksys and telecommunications companies. Vonage and AT&T have also announced they will use Linksys equipment for their VoIP service.

"VoIP can no longer be viewed as a niche interest for technology buffs," said Charles Giancarlo, president of Cisco-Linksys. "This latest announcement with Verizon clearly demonstrates that VoIP is the biggest consumer networking development since the introduction of wireless computing."

According to In-Stat/MDR, a leading market research firm, by the end of 2008 10.3% of the 59.1 million broadband users in the US will use IP telephony, and from 2004 through 2008 over 33 million VoIP enabled broadband access devices will ship worldwide.

Best Buy

Linksys also announced that Best Buy, the nation's leading specialty retailer of technology and entertainment products and services, is rolling out the new Interactive Home Networking Zone in more than 550 Best Buy stores over the next few months. This demonstration area will give consumers the opportunity to experience networking applications first hand and use various Linksys home networking products. For details, see press release, "Best Buy and Linksys team to Educate Consumers about Home Networking Technologies."

EasyToolkit/Intel Smart Wireless

The new Linksys Easy Toolkit is a suite of software tools designed to simplify wireless networking for the consumer. The toolkit includes several diagnostic tools including the Intel Smart Wireless Solutions, which will help improve the user experience for home and small office users that are setting up a wireless network with a select Linksys wireless router and Intel® Centrino^TM Mobile technology notebooks. Linksys will bundle the Easy Tool Kit with select Wireless-G Router and SpeedBooster products. For details, see press releases, "Linksys' New Easy Toolkit Streamlines Home Networking Setup and Configuration" and "Intel and Linksys Further Improve the Wireless Networking Experience for Home and Small Business Users"

Linksys Product News

Linksys also announced a new video camera and wireless product line. The Wireless-G Video Camera now offers integrated audio support, in addition to quality video feeds for home or business security surveillance, video conferencing and other Web-enabled communications applications. The wireless A+G product line offers Linksys home user customers even more flexibility for managing their home network and broadband connections. For product details, see press releases, "New Linksys Wireless-G Internet Video Camera Sends Live Video with Sound Through the Internet to a Web Browser Anywhere in the World!" and "Linksys to Ship Line of Wireless A+G Networking Products for the Home Environment."

About Linksys

Founded in 1988, Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the global leader in Wireless and Ethernet networking for consumer and SOHO users. Linksys is dedicated to making networking easy and affordable for its customers, offering innovative, award-winning products that seamlessly integrate with a variety of devices and applications. Linksys provides 24/7 Grade "A" product support to all its customers. For more information, visit the Linksys web site at www.linksys.com.

Linksys is a registered trademark or trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. Copyright © 2004 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Note: Please join the live web cast at 9:30 AM PT to learn more about these announcements and hear presentations from Charles Giancarlo, president of Linksys and partners, Verizon, Intel and Best Buy. To register for the live web cast and presentation, please go to: http://webevents.broadcast.com/cisco/S2716. You will need to disable any pop-up blocker software in order to register and view the event. For general pop-up blocker information visit: http://www.cisco.com/go/semreg/semfaq.html#popup. For additional technical support contact: sms-online-help@cisco.com