News
Issue #2002 - 34 (September 2002)
(Updated Sep. 10, 2002)

INFRASTRUCTURE, PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Pico Communications Deploys World's Largest Corporate Bluetooth Network for Palm

Cupertino, Calif. — September 4, 2002 — Pico Communications today announced an agreement with Palm, Inc. to deploy PicoBlue Internet Access Points throughout the company’s new headquarter facilities. Palm’s two organizations – Palm Solutions Group, maker of Palm™ handhelds, and PalmSource, Inc., provider of the Palm OS® operating system for handheld and smart phone devices, will deploy Pico’s Bluetooth access points throughout their new corporate headquarters buildings in Milpitas and Sunnyvale, respectively. This deployment is expected to be the largest Bluetooth wireless network in the U.S. and the largest enterprise Bluetooth network in the world. It will be operational in September 2002.

“Bluetooth technology and Palm Powered devices make for a great combination,” said Albert Chu, Vice President of Business Development and Wireless Strategy at PalmSource, Inc. “When we're outside the campus, we use Bluetooth technology to connect through cell phones. Now when we're inside the campus, we'll use that same technology to connect to our network, check e-mail, and synchronize our information.”

The PicoBlue Internet Access Points will provide coverage in offices, cubicles, conference rooms, engineering labs, cafeterias, lobbies and other common areas throughout four buildings, covering over 160,000 square feet. Palm and PalmSource employees will be able to access the Internet and email and perform a HotSync® operation to their desktops from virtually anywhere inside the campuses by using their Palm Powered handhelds and Bluetooth hardware. 

“After reviewing several vendors’ products, we selected Pico Communications because of its 100-meter range, capacity, speed, interoperability with a wide range of clients and ease of use,” commented Mike Allison, director of Computer and Network Systems at Palm, Inc. “From an IT-specific perspective, PicoBlue met our requirements for network security and easy integration into our network infrastructure.” Palm has been working with Pico to optimize the Access points for deployment into corporate infrastructure.

PicoBlue Deployed in Europe
Palm’s deployment in the U.S. follows an earlier deployment of PicoBlue Access Points throughout Palm Solutions Group’s European offices. Palm associates in the U.K., France and Germany use PicoBlue Access Points to connect their Palm OS handhelds to the network while in the office and Bluetooth-equipped GPRS phones to connect their handhelds when out of the office. “Pico’s access points have transformed our handhelds,” said Bill Bauer, Palm’s head of wireless and enterprise for EMEA. “We can now use any Palm OS handheld equipped Bluetooth to get on the network from our offices throughout Europe.”

Palm and PalmSource employees will be able to enjoy a great Bluetooth LAN user experience with PicoConnect™ from Pico Communications. In the March 2002 report from In-Stat/MDR,
“Bluetooth Real-World Deployment & Product Evaluations: A User's Perspective,” the PicoBlue and Palm Bluetooth Card received the highest LAN access user experience rating: "5 ½ out of 5 blue teeth". Extra credit, which brought the solution rating up to 5½, was given for PicoConnect, a one-tap application that automatically connects the user to the Internet via PicoBlue Internet Access Points.

PicoSync
Palm and PalmSource employees will be able to further enhance their Bluetooth networking experience by using Pico’s PicoSync™ software for the Palm handheld. PicoSync utilizes PicoConnect technology to perform “one-tap” wireless network HotSync® operations, regardless of the distance from their desktop or laptop computers.

“It is gratifying to see the fruits of both companies’ development efforts bringing Bluetooth into a real-world setting on the Palm campus,” stated Lung Yeh, president and CEO of Pico Communications. “This deployment will serve as the premiere example of Bluetooth networking taking handheld computing to the next level.”

Availability
The PicoBlue Internet Access Point are priced at $495 and Palm Bluetooth Card can be purchased at an estimated U.S. street price of $129. 

For more information: www.pico.net

MobileInfo Comments and Advisory:  This network will be a good test ground for validating Bluetooth as a wireless connectivity platform for a large enterprise campus. We want to watch this one because it goes against IEEE 802.11a or 802.11b platform. In fact, prices of Bluetooth access points and device adapter cards are higher than WiFi equivalents because of early timing of its introduction and lack of competition. Range of 100 meters is beyond the specifications and we expect some problems. We also have concerns about capacity and speed. We would be glad to hear from Pico Communications and others who disagree with our comments.

Pico Communications' Response to MobileInfo.Com's Comments & Advisory :

MobileInfo.Com Comment: "This network will be a good test ground for validating Bluetooth as a
wireless connectivity platform for a large enterprise campus."

PICO's Response: WE AGREE ENTIRELY AND EXPECT THAT THIS DEPLOYMENT WILL SET A PRECEDENT FOR OTHER ENTERPRISE DEPLOYMENTS OF BLUETOOTH.

MobileInfo.Com Comment: "We want to watch this one because it goes against IEEE 802.11a or 802.11b platform."

PICO's RESPONSE: I'M NOT SURE I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN BY "GOES AGAINST." ELSEWHERE ON YOUR SITE, YOU HAVE WRITTEN, "Bluetooth and wireless LANs address different wireless connectivity requirements. Therefore, the two technologies need not and should not compete with each other. If Bluetooth community would not get offended, 802.11b is the big brother and Bluetooth is the younger brother."
YOU HAVE IT EXACTLY RIGHT -- THE TWO DO NOT COMPETE WITH EACH OTHER. IN FACT, AT PALM, BLUETOOTH EXISTS RIGHT ALONGSIDE BOTH 802.11A AND 802.11B. THEY DO NOT COMPETE BUT, RATHER SERVE DIFFERENT NEEDS. IN THIS CASE, THE NEED SERVED BY A BLUETOOTH NETWORK IS TO CONNECT PALM HANDHELD DEVICES TO THE NETWORK USING THE PALM BLUETOOTH CARD. THIS IS A FAR CHEAPER, LIGHTER AND MORE BATTERY FRIENDLY SOLUTION THAN IS WIFI ON THE PALM. IN ADDITION, PALM USERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE THE SAME BLUETOOTH SD CARD TO CONNECT TO THEIR BLUETOOTH-ENABLED PHONE AND FROM THERE TO THE WAN. SO ONE BLUETOOTH CARD ENABLES ANYWHERE ACCESS. MEANWHILE, NOTEBOOK COMPUTER USERS CAN ACCESS THE NETWORK VIA 802.11A OR B. ANOTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT HANDHELD DEVICES ARE INHERENTLY LOW BANDWIDTH DEVICES. THEY CAN NEITHER STORE THE LARGE AMOUNTS OF DATA MADE AVAILABLE BY A TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS 802.11A, FOR EXAMPLE, NOR DO THEY HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO PROCESS DATA AT THE SPEEDS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THESE NETWORKS. BLUETOOTH IS ACTUALLY QUITE A NICE FIT FOR HANDHELDS BECAUSE IT PROVIDES ENOUGH SPEED FOR THE HANDHELD PLATFORM AND THE APPLICATIONS TYPICALLY RUN ON THAT PLATFORM, WHILE CONSERVING ENERGY TO PROLONG THE BATTERY LIFE OF THAT PLATFORM WHILE CONNECTED. 

MobileInfo.Com Comment: "In fact, prices of Bluetooth access points and device adapter cards are higher than WiFi equivalents because of early timing of its introduction and lack of competition." 

PICO's Response: THIS IS GENERALLY TRUE, THOUGH THE BLUETOOTH CLIENT(S) FOR THE PALM ARE MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE THAN THE WIFI CLIENT AVAILABLE. WITH ACCESS POINTS, YOU NEED TO DEFINE THE SEGMENT AT WHICH THE AP IS TARGETED AND LOOK AT PRICES WITHIN THE SEGMENT. WIFI APS FOR HOME/SOHO USE CAN BE FOUND AS LOW AS US$100; THIS HELPS TO EXPLAIN THE EXPLOSION IN HOME USE. HOWEVER, THESE ARE NOT THE TYPES OF APS TYPICALLY DEPLOYED IN ENTERPRISES. ENTERPRISE APS, SUCH AS THOSE MANUFACTURED BY CISCO AND PROXIM, CAN COST US$800 - $1000 BECAUSE THEY HAVE SPECIFIC FEATURES NOT TYPICALLY FOUND IN THE LOW-END PRODUCTS. THE PICO AP, TOO, IS TARGETED AT THE ENTERPRISE MARKET AND, AS SUCH, HAS A MUCH LARGER FEATURE SET THAN DOES THE TYPICAL LOW-COST WIFI AP.

MobileInfo.Com Comment: "Range of 100 meters is beyond the specifications and we expect some problems."

PICO's Response: I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HEARING WHAT PROBLEMS YOU EXPECT. DO YOU MEAN THAT BEING FARTHER AWAY FROM AN AP IS AN INHERENT PROBLEM? REGARDING RANGE AND SPECIFICATIONS, RANGE IS NOT ACTUALLY SPECIFIED IN BLUETOOTH -- RADIO TRANSMIT POWER IS SPECIFIED. THERE ARE THREE CLASSES OF RADIO, CLASS 1 BEING THE HIGHEST WITH A MAX OUTPUT POWER OF 20 dBm (100 mW). PICO'S AP IS WITHIN THIS SPECIFICATION. THE WAY WE INCREASE THE RANGE IS BY IMPROVING THE SENSITIVITY OF THE RADIO RECEIVER. IN ESSENCE, WE ARE BETTER ABLE TO "HEAR" DEVICES WITH WHICH WE ARE COMMUNICATING. THIS IS PURELY A COMMERCIAL DECISION THAT DOES NOT VIOLATE THE BLUETOOTH SPECIFICATION. WE SIMPLY FEEL THAT THE AP IS MORE USEFUL TO CUSTOMERS SEEKING TO NETWORK THEIR HANDHELDS WHEN IT HAS A GREATER RANGE. 

MobileInfo.Com Comment: We also have concerns about capacity and speed. 

PICO's Response: AS YOU ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH THE BASIC SPECIFICATIONS OF BLUETOOTH, E.G.1 MBPS RAW DATA RATE AND A PICONET OF EIGHT USERS, I ASSUME YOU MEAN THAT YOU HAVE CONCERNS WITH THE IMPLICATION OF THE BLUETOOTH SPECIFICATIONS IN THE ENTERPRISE ENVIRONMENT. WHETHER OR NOT SPEED IS A "CONCERN" DEPENDS UPON THE ANSWERS TO AT LEAST TWO QUESTIONS: 1) HOW FAST IS THE DEVICE ABLE TO PROCESS DATA?; 2) WHAT SPEEDS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE APPLICATIONS RUNNING ON THAT DEVICE? IF YOU CONSIDER THAT THE DEVICE BEING NETWORKED IS A HANDHELD/PDA, YOU SEE THAT ITS OWN PROCESSING CAPABILITIES LIMIT ITS ABILITY TO PROCESS DATA AT "HIGH RATES" -- CERTAINLY NOT 11 MBPS. THIS IS NOT TYPICALLY AN ISSUE, THOUGH, AS THE MOST COMMONLY USED HANDHELD APPLICATIONS -- EMAIL, SYNC, DATABASE -- DO NOT DEMAND THESE HIGH BANDWIDTHS. HENCE BLUETOOTH TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES A GOOD MATCH BETWEEN DATA RATE AND DEVICE CAPABILITIES/ REQUIREMENTS. THE CAPACITY OF BLUETOOTH APS IS, OF COURSE, LOWER THAN FOR 802.11A AND B. HOWEVER, THE HANDHELD USERS MAKING USE OF THE BLUETOOTH NETWORK ARE TYPICALLY NOT SITTING AT THEIR DESKS ALL DAY CONNECTED TO AN AP. THEY MOVE AROUND THE BUILDING, CONNECTING AS NEEDED. THIS USAGE MODEL EASES THE REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTANTANEOUS CAPACITY. IF CERTAIN AREAS WITHIN A BUILDING EXPERIENCE PARTICULARLY HEAVY USE, THEN MORE APS ARE REQUIRED.

MobileInfo's Response to Pico Communications Clarifications : We are quite satisfied with most of the clarifications submitted by Pico Communications. These are logical, sound and reasonable. Nonetheless, we want to keep our flags up and compare real-life experience with engineering expectations and assumptions. 

Note: This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology architectures.  All trademarks used in this summary are the property of their respective owners.