Moving to increase its visibility among resellers and retail customers in Japan, network hardware vendor Netgear Inc. has struck an exclusive distribution deal with broadband communications carrier and IT distributor Softbank BB (SBB).

The pact aims to "accelerate Netgear's growth in Asia," according to company chairman and chief executive Patrick Lo. With the pace of adoption of broadband to the desktop accelerating in the consumer arena, Netgear sees the Japanese market as source of significant growth, Lo said.

Netgear, based in Santa Clara, Calif., has offered its business-class networking products in Japan for several years and sees the market as "ripe" for its new crop of high-speed consumer wireless products, added Lo.

To drive the expansion program, Netgear appointed Naoki Hayashida as its manager in Japan, hiring him away from Polycom Japan, where he held a similar position. According to Hayashida, Netgear is hiring additional employees in Japan, is enhacning its services and support offerings, and is stepping up its marketing activities.

As exclusive distributor, Tokyo-based SBB will provide Netgear products to a network of resellers, including retail stores and systems integrators. An IT distributor for more than 20 years, SBB broadened its horizons by launching Japanese DSL service in June 2001, signing roughly 3.9 million subscribers since then. In April 2002, it rolled out a broadband voice service that now has more than 3 million customers, according to the company.

Netgear currently derives about ten percent of its total revenue from the Asia-Pacific region. The company's worldwide net revenue for the quarter ended September 28, 2003 was $75.8 million, an 18 percent jump compared with the $64.4 million posted a year earlier.