iiNet takes BoB development in-house

Launches R&D lab.

Internet service provider iiNet has launched a research and development division for the in-house creation of consumer goods .

BoB, the ISP’s all-in-one-home communications device launched in partnership with Belkin last year, was the first product to be brought in-house.

iiNet said it would, however, continue its partnership with Belkin in a different form and that product manufacturing would remain off-site.

iiNet said it wanted to focus on “producing good looking, value for money products that respond to consumer needs and set technology trends.”

Chief executive Michael Malone said work at iiNet Labs had commenced and new products would be available in the coming months.

“The success of BoB and other industry firsts, like fetchtv and Naked DSL, demonstrate that iiNet is a market leader with innovative services and products.

“It is only natural that we developed our own in-house R&D capability to give us more control of our development and let us quickly respond to changing customer demands and trends,” he said.

“This is an exciting new phase for iiNet,” Malone said.

A handful of people have been selected to work in the division which is located in the ISP's Western Australian offices.

iiNet announced the strategy during yesterday's the Annual General Meeting where it also announced “its best ever set of results”.

For the 2010 financial year revenue was up 13 percent to $474 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amoritisation grew faster than revenue - up 20 percent to $80.7 million. Net profit after tax was up 36 percent to $34.8 million.