Stonestreet One and MontaVista Software Team to Offer Embedded Bluetooth Solutions
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2003--Stonestreet One, a leading provider of Bluetooth technology solutions, announced today that it is teaming with MontaVista Software, Inc., the company powering the embedded revolution, to provide developers of embedded wireless devices the tools necessary to bring a broad range of Linux-based Bluetooth applications to the consumer, automotive, aerospace, industrial and medical device markets.
Stonestreet One is the developer of Bluetopia(R), a BQB qualified Bluetooth protocol stack, which has been ported to many operating systems, including Linux. Stonestreet One is committed to providing quality middleware communication software to MontaVista Software's customers.

"Teaming with MontaVista Software makes perfect sense as our companies are both focusing on the embedded space and targeting the same markets," said Tim Reilly, Chief Technology Officer for Stonestreet One. "The combination of Bluetopia and MontaVista Linux Consumer Electronics Edition will allow our customers to bring reliable and cutting-edge Linux-based Bluetooth devices to market quickly."

"To enable customers to rapidly bring rich consumer electronics devices to market, MontaVista Software partners with companies who can deliver to them, both, a business and a technological edge. Stonestreet One's certified Bluetooth protocol stack solution is an excellent fit with MontaVista Linux," said Scott Hedrick, Senior Product Marketing Manager, MontaVista Software.

About Stonestreet One

Stonestreet One designs, develops and integrates short-range wireless solutions and has been developing custom Bluetooth solutions for a diverse group of customers since 1999. Stonestreet One's designs and software are enabling and enhancing wireless devices in industries such as mobile communications, biomedical, material handling, consumer products, aerospace and automotive. Stonestreet One is a Bluetooth design partner for a number of leading semiconductor, electronic component manufacturers and distributors. For more information about Stonestreet One please visit www.stonestreetone.com.

About MontaVista Software

MontaVista Software is a leading global supplier of systems software for intelligent connected devices and associated infrastructure. For more information about MontaVista Software, please visit www.mvista.com.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. MontaVista is a trademark of MontaVista Software Inc. Bluetopia is a registered trademark of Stonestreet One, Inc. Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG Inc. USA. All other names mentioned are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.


CONTACT: Stonestreet One, Inc., Louisville
Rajan Kumar, 502/595-7000
Fax: 502/595-7020

The debate is heating up within the IEEE 802.15.3a task group, which is trying to prepare a draft proposal for ultrawideband (UWB) communications. Texas Instruments' hometown of Dallas recently hosted a meeting of the project that
saw 23 different proposals presented on how to standardize the operation of UWB as a short-range wireless communications network.

Pronto Networks and GuestWiFi are joining forces to provide wireless hot-spot
service designed for small to midsize hotels, the largest segment of the
hospitality industry. Hot spots are areas where wireless Internet access is
available to the public using Wi-Fi, a wireless networking technology based on
the 802.11b, 802.11a and--by midyear--the 802.11g standards. Wi-Fi lets people
access a network wirelessly and share resources on that network. The number of
hot-spot locations is expected to multiply dramatically by the end of the year.

Gartner Says Frequent Users of Wireless LANs Will Total 4.2 Million in 2003; Analysts Present the Outlook for the Wireless LAN Market at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2003--The mobile industry will benefit from the rapid adoption of wireless LANs (WLANs), with the number of frequent WLAN users in North America growing from 4.2 million in 2003 to more than 31 million in 2007, according to Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB).
These findings were released today during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003, which is being held at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego.

"As more and more applications are built requiring broadband connections, the possibility of more than 100,000 'hot spots' within the next five years is an innovation that cannot come too soon," said Ken Dulaney, vice president and research director for Gartner. "However, due to the need to wait until a large enough population is equipped with WLAN capability, profitability for hot spot providers will be stalled for three or four years."

Gartner analysts said businesses should deploy 802.11b now. In most cases, businesses will be satisfied with performance over the long term, and 802.11b will be the technology of choice for hot spot frequenters. However 802.11a, in combination with 802.11g, will begin to replace 802.11b purchases in early 2004. The additional bandwidth will be used for new applications such as voice over IP and streaming video.

"When they mature in 2004, 802.11a WLANs will offer significant technological advantages over 802.11b networks," said Dulaney. "Some of the advantages include link rates of up to 54 Mbps, lack of interference from Bluetooth and consumer devices operating in the crowded 2.4 GHz band, and the availability of up to 13 channels in North America and more in European markets."

According to Gartner, more than 50 percent of all WLAN implementations will take place within the vertical markets through 2004.

"The applications for WLANs in vertical markets are endless," said Dulaney. "Quantifiable results can easily be measured by baselining nonwireless productivity and costs and measuring them against wireless-based communications systems."

Among some of the vertical industries taking advantage of the growing WLAN market are education, healthcare and warehouse/manufacturing.

"Wireless use in high schools and higher education is helping to evolve teaching methods with more Web-based use in class, with online testing as a result," Dulaney said. "The use of wireless in healthcare is decreasing costs for network systems, adding mobility for recuperating patients, decreasing patient stays and increasing healthcare benefits. It is also adding to accuracy of medications and is used for real-time patient tracking."

Dulaney added, "In warehouses and manufacturing, a WLAN decreases the number of inventory specialists required, making warehousing systems more efficient, less costly and more accurate, with analysis of real-time inventory levels."

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the IT industry's largest and most strategic conference, providing business leaders with an insightful look at the future of IT. For more than 10,000 IT professionals from the world's leading enterprises, Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of their annual planning efforts. Attendees are responsible for more than $35 billion in IT spending for their respective enterprises. For more information about Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003, please visit www.gartner.com/symposium or call 1-800-778-1997.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,500 clients leverage technology to achieve business success. Gartner's businesses are Research, Consulting, Measurement, Events and Executive Programs. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. and has 4,000 associates, including more than 1,000 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. Fiscal 2002 revenue totaled $907 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.


CONTACT: Gartner, San Diego
Allison Haines, 203/316-6216
allison.haines@gartner.com

Gartner Says Frequent Users of Wireless LANs Will Total 4.2 Million in 2003; Analysts Present the Outlook for the Wireless LAN Market at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2003--The mobile industry will benefit from the rapid adoption of wireless LANs (WLANs), with the number of frequent WLAN users in North America growing from 4.2 million in 2003 to more than 31 million in 2007, according to Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB).
These findings were released today during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003, which is being held at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego.

"As more and more applications are built requiring broadband connections, the possibility of more than 100,000 'hot spots' within the next five years is an innovation that cannot come too soon," said Ken Dulaney, vice president and research director for Gartner. "However, due to the need to wait until a large enough population is equipped with WLAN capability, profitability for hot spot providers will be stalled for three or four years."

Gartner analysts said businesses should deploy 802.11b now. In most cases, businesses will be satisfied with performance over the long term, and 802.11b will be the technology of choice for hot spot frequenters. However 802.11a, in combination with 802.11g, will begin to replace 802.11b purchases in early 2004. The additional bandwidth will be used for new applications such as voice over IP and streaming video.

"When they mature in 2004, 802.11a WLANs will offer significant technological advantages over 802.11b networks," said Dulaney. "Some of the advantages include link rates of up to 54 Mbps, lack of interference from Bluetooth and consumer devices operating in the crowded 2.4 GHz band, and the availability of up to 13 channels in North America and more in European markets."

According to Gartner, more than 50 percent of all WLAN implementations will take place within the vertical markets through 2004.

"The applications for WLANs in vertical markets are endless," said Dulaney. "Quantifiable results can easily be measured by baselining nonwireless productivity and costs and measuring them against wireless-based communications systems."

Among some of the vertical industries taking advantage of the growing WLAN market are education, healthcare and warehouse/manufacturing.

"Wireless use in high schools and higher education is helping to evolve teaching methods with more Web-based use in class, with online testing as a result," Dulaney said. "The use of wireless in healthcare is decreasing costs for network systems, adding mobility for recuperating patients, decreasing patient stays and increasing healthcare benefits. It is also adding to accuracy of medications and is used for real-time patient tracking."

Dulaney added, "In warehouses and manufacturing, a WLAN decreases the number of inventory specialists required, making warehousing systems more efficient, less costly and more accurate, with analysis of real-time inventory levels."

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the IT industry's largest and most strategic conference, providing business leaders with an insightful look at the future of IT. For more than 10,000 IT professionals from the world's leading enterprises, Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo events are key components of their annual planning efforts. Attendees are responsible for more than $35 billion in IT spending for their respective enterprises. For more information about Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003, please visit www.gartner.com/symposium or call 1-800-778-1997.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,500 clients leverage technology to achieve business success. Gartner's businesses are Research, Consulting, Measurement, Events and Executive Programs. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. and has 4,000 associates, including more than 1,000 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. Fiscal 2002 revenue totaled $907 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.


CONTACT: Gartner, San Diego
Allison Haines, 203/316-6216
allison.haines@gartner.com

Five major Asian telecommunications carriers have joined forces to create a
group called the Wireless Broadband Alliance which will integrate 8,600 Wi-Fi
hotspots in five countries under a single service, the carriers said in a
statement Friday.

Wi-Fi Developers Pursue Plans for More Services
By Carmen Nobel

NEW ORLEANS—Major carriers disagree on the commercial viability of public WLAN hot spots and, as such, are taking very different approaches to the market.
While companies such as Nextel Communications Inc. and Sprint PCS Group are taking a wait-and-see approach to 802.11b, or Wi-Fi, others such as Verizon Wireless Inc., AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Cingular Wireless are moving ahead with new services. The latter moves are not surprising, considering the rapid rollouts of wireless LAN hot spots. Currently, there are some 3,000 commercial, pay-per-use WLANs deployed throughout the United States, the majority of which run on Wi-Fi.

Network Instruments First to Market With Multimode 802.11 a/b/g Wireless and Wired Analyzer
Monday March 24, 9:19 am ET
Through Atheros Partnership, Network Instruments' Observer Offers the Highest-Speed and Universally Compatible Wireless and Wired Monitoring Package


MINNEAPOLIS, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Network Instruments, maker of the Observer line of network monitoring and protocol analysis tools, announced today availability of the industry's first wireless and wired analyzer with multimode 802.11a/b/g connectivity. Observer was the first analyzer to support 802.11a, the first to offer 802.11a/b support on a single card in a wireless/wired analyzer, and now through a close partnership with Atheros Communications, is offering the first support of all three IEEE wireless LAN standards.

"We are very excited to provide the market with the first and only analyzer that not only supports the draft 802.11g, but also the 'a' and 'b' standards and wired networking," said Roman Oliynyk, CEO and chief software architect of Network Instruments. "This is a crucial and cost-effective move driven by the need to ease the IT burden on administrators. We believe that the market convergence on multimode 802.11 will accelerate enterprise wireless deployments because of its backward compatibility, high speeds, and scalability. This release demonstrates our leadership in providing the most comprehensive and universally beneficial network monitoring software, as well as a continuation of the commitment to our customers to incorporate the new networking technologies that they adopt at their sites."

By adding support for the 802.11g draft, Observer is designed to work in a multimode wireless networking environment, and at the same time fully supports shared and switched LANs and WANs. As administrators and field technicians move between locations within the enterprise they will be able to monitor and troubleshoot each wireless standard from the same card, eliminating the hassles of reconfiguring multiple cards.

"We believe that with the ratification of 802.11g expected this summer, the market's consolidation around multimode a/b/g solutions embedded into laptops will cause an explosion in the adoption of wireless LANs in the enterprise," said Sheung Li, product line manager of Atheros Communications. "This will prompt a need for multimode management of the different wireless standards within enterprises. We are pleased to collaborate with Network Instruments because of their leadership and commitment to wireless analysis. Their support of all three 802.11 standards will simplify wireless network management and further our efforts to drive transparent connectivity."

D-Link, Linksys, NETGEAR and others have implemented PC Card adapters based on the recently released AR5001X+ multimode 802.11a/b/g chipset from Atheros.

Multimode 802.11a/b/g wireless analysis and monitoring is available in all Observer products immediately. Please contact Network Instruments or your local dealer or distributor for upgrade and purchasing information.

About Network Instruments

Network Instruments, LLC develops and markets the Observer product line of network protocol analyzers, a comprehensive, scaleable solution for Ethernet, Gigabit, Wireless and WAN monitoring. The Observer line of products helps organizations effectively -- and affordably -- manage and troubleshoot their entire network. Network Instruments also develops and sells Link Analyst®, a companion product to Observer that provides a visual map of devices and routes. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Network Instruments is a privately held company with offices throughout the United States, European offices in London UK, Paris France, and distributors in more than 60 countries. To find out more about Network Instruments and its products, contact us at (952) 932-9899, or visit http://www.networkinstruments.com/.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Network Instruments, LLC

Tira Wireless Scores with NHL PowerShot Hockey Game for Mobile Phones

Tira Wireless, a full service publisher of wireless Java(TM)
platform-based applications for mobile phones, and the National Hockey
League (NHL®) have teamed to deliver NHL PowerShot Hockey(TM), the
first North American major sports league branded wireless application
for Java(TM) technology-enabled mobile phones. The game carries the
NHL brand as part of a licensing agreement signed between Tira
Wireless and the NHL. NHL PowerShot Hockey will be made available to
mobile subscribers through mobile operators in North America and
across Europe.