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Microsoft and SBC Communications Join Internet Home Alliance Board of Directors

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 06:00 CDT

MONTEREY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 22, 2003--

Other New Members are SupportSoft, Arvida, Bell Canada, Catellus

Urban Development Corporation, Cushcraft Corporation and Peapod

Internet Home Alliance, the leading cross-industry network of companies advancing the home technology market, continues to gain momentum, announcing today the addition of eight new members, including Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT), the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing, and SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC), one of the world's leading data, voice and Internet services providers. Both companies have joined the Alliance as Principal members and been named to the board of directors.

In addition to Microsoft and SBC Communications, the Alliance's other new members are:

-- SupportSoft (Nasdaq:SPRT), a leading provider of support

automation software, which has joined as a Contributor;

-- Arvida, a St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE), one of the nation's

premier developers of master-planned residential, resort and

business communities, which has joined as an Associate;

-- Bell Canada, Canada's national leader in communications, which

has joined as an Associate;

-- Catellus Urban Development Corporation, a subsidiary of

Catellus Development Corporation (NYSE:CDX), a publicly traded

real estate development company, which has joined as an

Associate;

-- Cushcraft Corporation, the global leader in the design,

development and manufacture of enhanced antenna solutions for

the Wi-Fi, broadband wireless access and cellular in-building

markets, which has joined as an Associate; and

-- Peapod, the online grocer, which has joined as an Associate.

Sunbeam Products Inc. has upgraded its membership from Associate to Contributor status.

These new members join a stellar roster of leading firms -- including Best Buy, Cisco Systems Inc., General Motors, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM, Invensys, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric Corporation of America), Sears, Roebuck and Co., Sun Microsystems and Whirlpool Corporation -- that are working together within the Alliance to accelerate adoption of technologies that require a broadband or persistent Internet connection.

"Through a broad range of products and services such as Windows XP, XBox and MSN, Microsoft already offers consumers great ways to make their lives more entertained, better connected, and more productive," said Jonathan Cluts, director consumer prototyping and strategy, Microsoft, and board member, Internet Home Alliance. "The efforts of the Internet Home Alliance will enable Microsoft to work with other industry leaders to more quickly deliver consumers the enhanced Internet products and services they desire in the future."

"As the nation's leading DSL provider, SBC has built its reputation on listening to customers and responding to their needs with superior products and services. Working in collaboration with the Internet Home Alliance, we are carrying forward that tradition by identifying and developing broadband-enabled solutions that deliver clear benefits to customers," said Scott Helbing, senior vice president, consumer marketing, SBC Communications Inc.

"This highly influential, diverse group of new members underscores the powerful collaboration opportunities that exist within the Alliance," said Kristine Stewart, president, Internet Home Alliance, and director of market development, worldwide commercial marketing, Cisco. "Providing our members with opportunities to work on varied initiatives with companies from across the connected home value chain gives them the knowledge and information they need to gain a competitive advantage in the market."

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

About SBC Communications

SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is one of the world's leading data, voice and Internet services providers. Through its world-class networks, SBC companies provide a full range of voice, data, networking and e-business services, as well as directory advertising and publishing. A Fortune 30 company, America's leading provider of high-speed DSL Internet access services, and one of the nation's leading Internet Service Providers, SBC companies currently serve 57 million access lines nationwide. In addition, SBC companies own 60 percent of America's second-largest wireless company, Cingular Wireless, which serves 22 million wireless customers. Internationally, SBC companies have telecommunications investments in 27 countries.

About SupportSoft Inc.

SupportSoft (Nasdaq:SPRT) is a leading provider of service and support automation software for corporate enterprises and broadband service providers worldwide. SupportSoft's patented software platform allows businesses to automate and personalize the support they provide to their customers, partners and employees, helping them reduce costs, increase revenues and drive user satisfaction. Global 2000 companies using SupportSoft's comprehensive family of software solutions include enterprises like Procter & Gamble, Clorox, GE, Cisco Systems, Bank of America, NEC, BT and Schlumberger, broadband providers like Comcast, BellSouth and Cox Communications, OEMs and System Integrators like IBM, Sony, Siebel Systems and CSC. SupportSoft has offices and customers located throughout the world.

About Arvida, a St. Joe Company

Arvida is the community development arm of The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE), and is one of the nation's premier developers of master-planned residential, resort and business communities. Since the company was founded more than 40 years ago by Arthur Vining Davis, Arvida has completed more than 60 planned communities comprising more than 40,000 new homes and 30 golf courses in Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, South Carolina and North Carolina. For more information on Arvida, visit www.arvida.com.

About Bell Canada

Bell Canada, Canada's national leader in communications, provides connectivity to residential and business customers through wired and wireless voice and data communications, local and long distance phone services, high-speed and wireless Internet access, IP-broadband services, e-business solutions and satellite television services. Bell Canada is wholly owned by BCE Inc. For more information please visit www.bell.ca.

About Catellus Urban Development Corporation

Catellus Urban Development Corporation ("CUDC") is a subsidiary of Catellus Development Corporation. Catellus Development Corporation is a publicly traded real estate development company that owns and operates approximately 36.7 million square feet of predominantly industrial property in many of the country's major distribution centers and transportation corridors. The company's principal objective is sustainable, long-term growth in earnings, which it seeks to achieve by applying its strategic resources: a lower-risk/higher-return rental portfolio, a focus on expanding that portfolio through development, and the deployment of its proven land development skills to select opportunities where it can generate profits to recycle back into its business. More information on the company is available at www.catellus.com.

About Cushcraft Corporation

Cushcraft Corporation is the world's largest supplier of enhanced antenna solutions for wireless networking and communications. The company designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of high-performance antennas for a variety of commercial applications including:

-- WLAN 802.11b, a, g applications, including:

-- Single and multi-band applications

-- Broad range of enterprise applications

-- Coverage enhancement and range extension for residential

applications

-- Hotspot and hotzone applications

-- Point-to-point bridge applications

-- Broadband Wireless Access (MMDS, Point to Multipoint)

-- PCS/ Cellular In-building RF distribution systems

Cushcraft has a well-established reputation for developing innovative, high-performance, low-cost antenna solutions. The company is headquartered in Manchester, N.H. For more information, visit www.Cushcraft.com

About Peapod

Founded outside Chicago in 1989, Peapod (www.peapod.com) is America's largest Internet grocer. Peapod currently serves customers in five metropolitan markets: Chicago (Peapod), Boston, southern Connecticut/Westchester County, N.Y., Long Island, N.Y. (Peapod by Stop & Shop), and Washington, D.C. (Peapod by Giant). Peapod is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ahold, a leading international food retail and foodservice company based in the Netherlands.

About Sunbeam

Sunbeam Products Inc. is a leading consumer products company that designs, manufactures and markets, nationally and internationally, a diverse portfolio of consumer products under such world-class brands as Sunbeam(R), Oster(R), Mr. Coffee(R), Grillmaster(R) and Healthometer(R). For more information, visit www.sunbeam.com.

About Internet Home Alliance

Internet Home Alliance is the leading cross-industry network of companies advancing the home technology market. A non-profit organization, the Alliance provides companies with the collaboration, research and real-world testing opportunities they need to gain a competitive advantage in the home technology market. Members of the Alliance, which was founded in October 2000, come from a variety of industries and include such leading companies as Best Buy Co. Inc, Cisco Systems Inc., General Motors, Hewlett-Packard Company, IBM, Invensys, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric Corporation of America), Sears, Roebuck and Co., Sun Microsystems and Whirlpool Corporation. For more information, visit www.internethomealliance.com.

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