Netspace hires more distributors, resellers

Melbourne-based ISP Netspace has signed new distributors and resellers to answer demand from retail and for its broadband-in-a-box offering.

John Millar, national sales manager at Netspace, said the ISP had signed up distributors Cellnet, Zitec, Tecvic Distribution and retailers The Good Guys and Harvey Norman to boost its coverage.

Netspace's own broadband-in-a-box offering was selling especially well, he said.

"Broadband-in-a-box is building momentum," Millar said. "There are already similar products out there -- two or three that I'm aware of -- but we looked at creating one that was different."

Millar said Netspace's offering -- a joint venture with hardware vendor Netcomm -- combined the "right" hardware, level of support, price and a few extras. Unit sales had doubled month on month since its February launch, he said.

Netspace retail partners would now make up 30 percent of the ISP's channel partner numbers, he added.

The Good Guys hadn't previously carried a similar offering, so Netspace felt the home appliance retailer would be something of a blank slate. "They haven't been tainted by bad experiences," Millar said.

Harvey Norman, on the other hand, was a "natural progression" for Netspace.

Cellnet -- with IT Wholesale -- was one of the largest distributors in Australia and was also an Australian company. "We like dealing with Aussie companies. We're an Aussie company too," Millar said. "There's no bull, basically."

He said Netspace had also added business development managers across Australia to assist customers. Regionally-situated staff could potentially offer better service than ones who had to fly out from Melbourne, Millar said.

One new business development manager based in Brisbane would serve Queensland and the Northern Territory. A second, based in Sydney, would look after New South Wales and the ACT. Another would help South Australia and Tasmania, out of Hobart, Millar said.

Sam Crewe, an IT Wholesale brand manager at Cellnet, said Netspace's broadband-in-a-box could help ease internet access for end-users.

He saw the Netcomm-Netspace venture as a sign of things to come in residential broadband.

"Cellnet has a strong retail customer-base which this product has been aimed at," Crewe said. "Netspace offers our resellers a worthwhile trailing commission structure, meaning it is a relatively easy sell."