Arris Keeping ‘SURFboard’ Brand

Arris will no longer use the Motorola brand as of the end of 2015, but Arris confirmed that it owns the “SURFboard” brand and will continue to utilize it for retail products.

Motorola has used the SURFboard label on its cable modem products for many years, and Arris, which acquired Motorola Home in April 2013, has been using it in retail products that, of late, have been affixed with both the Motorola and Arris logos (see photo).

Zoom announced this week that it had inked an exclusive five-year license agreement with Motorola Mobility to use the Motorola brand in connection with Zoom’s consumer cable modem products, including cable modem bridges, cable modem/routers and cable set-tops that are manufactured, marketed and sold in the U.S. and Canada, starting in 2016.

Arris said in this blog post that it’s been preparing to take a run at retail without the Motorola banner.

“Since our acquisition of Motorola Home two years ago, we’ve anticipated this transition by accelerating our investment in making ARRIS the trusted name and global leader it is today, the company said. “Now, we’re ready to usher in the next wave of industry innovation under the ARRIS brand…The SURFboard is the most widely recognized and most popular retail cable modem —with more than 135 million sold, covering 90% of the market. It’s the retail standard.”