NETGEAR Extends Wireless Solutions To Growing Hotspot Market Via Bingo Wireless

New Partnership with Wi-Fi Service Provider Adds Travelers and Mobile Professionals to NETGEAR Market

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — October 14, 2002 — NETGEAR, Inc., a worldwide provider of easy-to-use, high performance networking products at prices affordable to homes and growing businesses, today announced a partnership with Wi-Fi service provider Boingo Wireless. Under the terms of the partnership, NETGEAR’s 802.11b Wireless PC Card (MA401) will be co-marketed with Boingo’s ultra-high-speed Internet "Wi-Fi" service, offering high-performance wireless connectivity to the Internet and corporate resources from a growing number of airports, hotel lobbies and other public places nationwide.

To launch the partnership, NETGEAR and Boingo are offering a $50 rebate on the NETGEAR Wireless PC card with the purchase of a 3-month subscription to Boingo. The program starts immediately and will continue through the end of the year. NETGEAR will also include Boingo’s software and information about its ultra-high-speed wireless service in the box with NETGEAR Wi-Fi cards.

This relationship demonstrates NETGEAR’s commitment to extend its reach to wireless customers beyond the home and office. NETGEAR’s high performance line of wireless networking products offer easy access to the public "hotspots" being deployed nationally by leading wireless service vendors such as Boingo.

The number of "hot-spot" locations available worldwide for public access is estimated to grow exponentially from 2,000 in 2001 to 42,000 in 2006, according to a report published by In-Stat/MDR. Amy Cravens of In-Stat/MDR stated: "NETGEAR's strategy of positioning its wireless product line to be available to this growing market will brand it as one of the primary go-to providers for telecommuters, students, and businesspeople seeking to increase their productivity outside of the home, classroom, or office."

"Hotspots are happening," said Patrick Lo, CEO and chairman of NETGEAR, "Our goal is to offer our customers the easiest possible way to take advantage of every high-speed, wireless Internet service available to them—whether they are in the office, in their living room, at the airport, or catching a bite in their hotel restaurant. We are therefore aggressively pursuing relationships with and direct support for leading providers like Boingo, who offers the largest number of hotspot-enabled locations today."

"Adding the Boingo software to the NETGEAR installation wizard gives people a great Wi-Fi card for home or office use that is also immediately usable in public spaces," said Dave Hagan, president of Boingo. "Combining the reliability of the NETGEAR cards with the ease-of-use of Boingo’s software is a winning proposition for people who want to extend the functionality of their card beyond their personal LAN. NETGEAR’s widespread availability through a variety of direct and retail channels is an added benefit for Boingo."

Boingo uses the pervasive 802.11b, or Wi-Fi, technology as the backbone of its service. Connectivity is achieved by simply clicking the Boingo icon on the laptop screen. The Boingo software then "sniffs" for live Wi-Fi signals and connects through the NETGEAR card. No dial-up, plugs or wires are required and connectivity speed is approximately 100 times as fast as a dial-up connection.

For more information or to sign up for the NETGEAR/Boingo service, visit www.boingo.com/partner/netgear, or contact 1-800-880-4117.

About NETGEAR Inc.
NETGEAR provides branded, easy-to-use, reliable and technologically advanced networking solutions for homes and small businesses. Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, Calif., NETGEAR designs and develops products that enable home and small business users to share Internet access, peripherals, digital content and applications among multiple personal computers and other Internet-enabled devices. NETGEAR primarily markets and sells its products through distributors based in North America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region to a network of resellers, including more than 4,500 retail stores, mail order catalogs and online retailers. NETGEAR was recently named to Deloitte & Touche’s "Technology Fast 500" and to its "2001 Technology Fast 50" for Silicon Valley. For more information visit the company’s Web site at www.netgear.com or call (408.907.8000).

About Boingo Wireless
Boingo Wireless, Inc. is an ultra-high-speed wireless Internet service now available in hundreds of locations across the country, such as hotels, airports, cafes, and other public places. Boingo provides business travelers with a wireless broadband Internet connection to improve productivity while on the road. Through its free Wi-Fi software, Boingo makes finding and connecting to Wi-Fi networks point-and-click simple and secure. EarthLink founder and chairman Sky Dayton founded Boingo in 2001 and serves as its CEO. More information about Boingo can be found at www.boingo.com.

For more information:
Doug Hagan
NETGEAR Inc.
(408) 907-8053
doug.hagan@netgear.com

Ken Hagihara
Integrity Public Relations
(949) 768-4423
ken@integritypr.net

Christian Gunning
Boingo Wireless
(310) 586-4009
christian@boingo.com