3Com Supplies Critical Wireless Technology for New Sprint Wireless Web Service
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — August 27, 1999 — Sprint's wireless division today announced that 3Com Corporation (Nasdaq: COMS) is supplying an integral part of the underlying wireless data access technology for its new Sprint PCS Wireless Web service, announced earlier this month. 3Com's CDMA InterWorking Function (IWF) is the only circuit-switched wireless data access gateway solution for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks such as the all-digital, nation-wide Sprint PCS network.
"3Com's CDMA IWF technology is part of the magic behind our new Sprint PCS Wireless Web offerings," said Keith Paglusch, senior vice president of operations, Sprint PCS. "3Com provides the network infrastructure platform that enables Sprint PCS' easy-to-use, breakthrough service. It helped enable Sprint PCS to take its place ahead of all its competitors in the wireless industry."
Unlike some wireless carriers that have announced wireless data products, the introduction of the Sprint PCS Wireless Web service is not a limited geographic trial or test launch. It will be launched full-scale and nation-wide in late September to the nearly 4 million subscribers of Sprint PCS, the fastest-growing US. wireless carrier.
3Com's CDMA IWF platform serves as a gateway between wireless CDMA and wireline networks. Use of 3Com's patent-pending IWF QuickNet Connect feature eliminates the need for a network modem, providing mobile users with direct digital access to the Internet and corporate Intranets. By bypassing the PSTN, mobile subscribers minimise toll charges and network set-up time, establishing connections in as little as 5 to 7 seconds.
"Up to now, user adoption of wireless data technology has been inhibited by a number of key barriers, including high cost, spotty geographic coverage, slow transmission speed, and inadequate security. The Sprint PCS service is impressive because it addresses these key issues. Service prices are reasonable, nation-wide coverage will be available immediately, transmission speeds of 14.4 kbps can be achieved, and the Sprint PCS digital network offers an inherent level of security," said Becky Diercks, director, wireless research, Cahners In-Stat Group. "3Com's CDMA IWF platform allows fast set-up times and eliminates the need for wireless modems, which allows users to save hundreds of dollars. It is an important cornerstone of Sprint's Wireless Web solution."
The CDMA IWF equipment connects directly to wireless switches to provide the interworking and protocol conversions required to deliver circuit-switched data capabilities to mobile data users.
"3Com is the only company offering a complete CDMA IWF wireless data access solution in the industry today," said Ben Cardwell, director of wireless product management, 3Com Carrier Systems. "Our equipment provides transparent, high-speed, reliable CDMA data connections for a full spectrum of devices including Palm Computing connected organisers, laptops, PDAs, and new smartphones, enabling Sprint PCS to offer mobile users data connectivity to the Internet and private corporate networks."
3Com's IWF technology is based on the company's award-winning Total Control multiservice access platform, which provides telecommunications carriers and service providers a powerful and highly reliable networking solution, including support for remote access, carrier-grade IP telephony, IP fax, virtual private networking (VPN) and other converged voice, video and data applications.
3Com introduced the IWF technology last October as a new capability for its CDMA solution. 3Com is the world's leading maker of CDMA wireless data infrastructure equipment, with virtually 100 percent of the domestic US. market and an estimated 95 percent of the global market.
About 3Com Corporation
With approximately 300 million customers world-wide, 3Com Corporation connects more people to information in more ways than any other networking company. 3Com delivers innovative information access products and network system solutions to enterprises, small businesses, carriers and network service providers, PC OEMs and consumers. 3Com – More connected. – For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at http://www.3com.com, or press site at http://www.3com.com/pressbox.
About Sprint PCS
Sprint PCS operates the largest 100 percent digital, 100 percent PCS nation-wide wireless network in the United States, already serving the majority of the nation's metropolitan areas including more than 4,000 cities and communities across the country. Sprint PCS has licensed PCS coverage of nearly 270 million people in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the US. Virgin Islands. For more information, visit the Sprint PCS web site at http://www.sprintpcs.com. Sprint PCS is a wholly owned tracking group of Sprint Corporation trading on the NYSE under the symbol "PCS."
About Sprint
Sprint (NYSE: PCS) is a global communications company at the forefront in integrating long distance, local and wireless communications services and one of the world's largest carriers of Internet traffic. Sprint built and operates the United States' only nation-wide all-digital, fibre optic network and is a leader in advanced data communications services. Sprint has $17 billion in annual revenues and serves more than 20 million business and residential customers.
3Com, Total Control and Palm Computing are registered trademarks, and More connected. is a trademark of 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
3Com Corporation Wireless Data Backgrounder
New Web-enabled wireless data services are emerging to finally catapult mobile data networking into horizontal business and consumer markets. Users are now quite comfortable using mobile phones to make voice calls and to pick up voicemail. Similarly, they have become reliant on e-mail for text messaging and on the Internet for finding up-to-the-minute stock, weather, traffic, and other information.
By blending the voice and data functions into a common subscriber device and common network at the back end, users can now handle converged voice and data functions in a simple and inexpensive manner. Many of the new and forthcoming mobile data services are deployed from networks based on a personal communications service (PCS) technology called Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), which has emerged as the future standard for high-capacity, global mobile networks.
CDMA Definition and Background
CDMA is a wideband technology that spreads multiple conversations across a wide segment of the broadcast spectrum. Each telephone or data call is assigned a unique code that distinguishes it from all other calls that are simultaneously transmitted over the same broadcast spectrum. So long as the receiving device knows the right code, it can discern its conversation from the others. This tends to be a more network-efficient scheme than those that deploy frequency division multiplexing techniques, such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). In fact, commercial CDMA technology was invented by Qualcomm Corporation specifically to increase the capacity of these wireless networks up to three-fold.
CDMA, GSM, and TDMA competed for status as the personal communications services (PCS) network standard for several years. CDMA, however, has edged ahead as the favourite for a standard world-wide platform because of its inherent capability to scale to higher network capacities. For example, CDMA is the basis for the upcoming world-wide standard for 153-kbps service that will allow users to roam globally using a single handset. Called CDMA2000, these network services are expected to be commercially deployed beginning in mid-2001.
The Wireless Data Market: Demand and Drivers
At year-end 1998, there were 23 million global CDMA subscribers, nearly 7 million of whom were in North America, according to the CDMA Development Group.
Overall, the Yankee Group estimates that the number of North American mobile data subscribers (including users of all wireless data technologies except paging) will more than triple between 1999 and 2002, growing from 3.38 million to 10.9 million during that time period.
Reasons for wireless data's expected break from vertical market applications and spillover into horizontal business and consumer use include the following:
* Mainstream reliance on the Internet for email communication and on cell phones for voice mail
* Less expensive and more lightweight access devices, including smart phones and PDAs
* Extended battery life of some mobile devices to nearly a month
* Faster networks – 14.4 kbps today with 4: 1 compression for achieving up to 64 kbps. Higher speeds will soon follow
How Subscribers Use and Pay for Wireless Data Services
Generally, existing subscribers of CDMA digital voice services will be able to continue to use their CDMA-capable phones for accessing their network services for data. Customers can use a smart phone with display as a standalone access device. Alternatively, they can plug a CDMA phone into a personal digital assistant (PDA) or laptop and use it as a wireless modem to connect that device directly to the Internet or a corporate Intranet. Generally, there will be a small fee for a cabling kit that connects the phone to the data device.
Pricing plans will vary among CDMA network operators. Early plans are enabling customers to add wireless data access to their voice package for $9.99 a month. The premium buys a fixed amount of data communications minutes. Alternatively, users can buy combined voice/data packages by the number of minutes that they think they will be using the service, much like the traditional cellular model. CDMA phone prices start at $99.
Where 3Com Fits in a CDMA Network
The innards of CDMA-based mobile data networks include a 3Com gateway, called the InterWorking Function (IWF), which connects wireless access networks to the public switched telephone network for call completion. In addition, the IWF has an integrated feature called QuickNetConnect, which enables wireless data calls to bypass the wired telephone network by routing connections directly to an IP network, such as the Internet or a corporate Intranet.
Wireless subscribers use their smart display phones or a CDMA phone plugged into a laptop or PDA to access the base station of their service provider that is closest to them. The base station communicates with a service provider's base station controller, which passes the communication to a wireless switch. The switch links to the 3Com CDMA gateway to transfer users either to a wireline telephone switch to complete their data calls or, using Quick Net Connect, directly to an IP network.
3Com gateway equipment is installed in nearly 100% of the world's CDMA data network infrastructure.