3Com has forged a deal with Hewlett-Packard in which the PC maker will use 3Com's modem products and network interface cards (NICs) across its entire line of personal computers, 3Com said yesterday.
HP is the fourth-largest PC maker in the US and the fourth-largest in the world, according to a recent Dataquest study, making the deal a significant one for 3Com, based in Santa Clara, California.
The agreement includes several new initiatives designed to increase HP's desktop and network management capabilities, 3Com said in a statement.
The deal calls for HP to use 3Com's Fast EtherLink 10/100M-bits-per-second (bps) Desktop Ethernet PCI network interface cards in its Vectra and Brio PCs and Kayak workstations. HP will also use 3Com's Megahertz 10/100M-bps Cardbus PC Cards with its Omnibook notebooks.
3Com's NICs and modems will also be used in HP's Netserver line of PC-based network servers through a channel assembly program, 3Com said.
3Com can be reached at +1-408-764-5000 or via the Internet at http://www.3com.com/. HP, based in Palo Alto, California, can be reached at +1-650-857-1501 or at http://www.hp.com/.