Pushing ahead with a plan to sell cable modems and other broadband products directly to cable operators and other service providers, Zoom Telephonics said it has hired industry vet Barry Hardek to the newly created post of service provider sales director.
The hire expands the sales focus of Zoom, which has traditionally focused on retail sales of DOCSIS modems and gateways. Of late, it’s been using Zoom as its “value brand” and utilizing the Motorola brand for a new line of premium-level cable modems, gateways, and other broadband products.
Retail Modem Market Small, but Active (Subscription Required)
Zoom inked a five-year licensing deal in May 2015 that gave Zoom the exclusive rights to use the Motorola brand in cable modems/routers and set-tops sold at retail in the U.S. and Canada. Zoom has since secured worldwide rights to the Motorola brand for modems, gateways, WiFi routers, range extenders and other WiFi products.
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Frank Manning, Zoom’s president and CEO, hinted on the company’s recent Q3 call that Zoom would add a service provider sales angle to its business.
“We’re seriously looking at giving it a try,” he said, noting then that Zoom was already in discussions about a potential hire focused in that area. “Think of it as an experiment; [there’s] no guarantees that we’ll be successful.”
Well-known in cable circles, Hardek most recently was managing director of SmartRG’s cable modem business, and has also held senior sales positions at Worldwide Supply, as well as two DOCSIS modem and gateway suppliers -- SMC Networks and Ubee Interactive.
“Barry comes on board at a great time,” Manning said in a statement. “Our Motorola brand cable modems are well-respected, and we now have a broad Motorola product line with excellent performance that is well suited to the service provider market.”
“I’m excited to join a company whose core business is customer premise equipment (CPE) in general, and DOCSIS CPE in particular,” added Hardek. “Zoom has a broad line of cable modems with proven performance, and plans for new cable modem products including DOCSIS 3.1 products.”
Zoom, which competes in the cable modem sector with companies such Arris, Netgear, TP-Link and Belkin/Linksys, said Q3 revenues rose 78% year-on-year to $6 million, driven by sales of its new Motorola-branded product line.
