Frontline Test Equipment Introduces The First Affordable, Full-Featured Bluetooth Protocol Analyzer!; FTS for Bluetooth Captures, Decodes, Displays, and Filters -- Real Time!

Business Editors

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2002

Frontline Test Equipment, Inc., the leader in affordable, PC-based, data communication test equipment, today announced the availability of FTS for Bluetooth(TM), an $8,495 PC-based Bluetooth protocol analyzer capable of sniffing data in three ways:

1.  Through the air.
2.  From the serial HCI interface between a Bluetooth Host CPU and a
    Bluetooth Host Controller.
3.  By "virtual" sniffing via the product's Live Import feature,
    which permits any application to feed data into FTS for Bluetooth.

Bluetooth data can be analyzed simultaneously in each of the product's three sniffing modes -- timestamps are synchronized across sniffing modes.

FTS for Bluetooth simultaneously captures, decodes, filters and displays data, and detects protocol errors--all in real time. Decodes of multiple protocol layers associated with multiple data frames can be viewed concurrently, which simplifies the process of understanding the complex relationships between multiple data frames and the protocol layers that comprise the frames.

Decodes Baseband, LMP, L2CAP, SDP, RFCOMM, TCS, OBEX, HDLC, PPP, BNEP, HID, AT Commands, HCI UART (H4), BCSP (BlueCore Serial Protocol), HCI, TCP/IP, AVCTP, AVDTP and HCRP. Other notable features include piconet support, encrypted data support, and Null and Poll capture. The analyzer also supports Pairing, Master/Slave Switching, and Park, Hold, and Sniff switches.

Data is decoded at the frame, byte, and bit levels, which permits users to rapidly detect and isolate even the most minute and intermittent protocol-related problems. The underlying FTS for Bluetooth architecture enables Frontline to quickly develop new protocol decoders as they are announced by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The architecture also supports the rapid development and seamless integration of Vendor Extensions, through the FrameDecoder feature.

According to Eric Kaplan, Frontline President, "FTS for Bluetooth extends the Frontline tradition of affordable, PC-based data communication test equipment into Bluetooth air sniffing. Now every engineer and technician who needs a full-featured Bluetooth protocol analyzer can afford one."

"We were pleased that Frontline chose to support BCSP in their serial HCI analyzer and when we decided to build an air sniffer, Frontline was an obvious partner," said Clive Chelsom-Pill, CSR Commercial Manager, adding "The product's affordability combined with its ease of use and powerful analytical capabilities provide significant cost and time savings for developers."

FTS for Bluetooth is a member of the Frontline Test System (FTS) family of data communication protocol analyzers and testers, each of which incorporates the FTS protocol-decoding engine as its core element. FTS protocol analyzers employ a common user interface and offer protocol decoding down to the bit level. The common user interface shortens the learning curve for engineers and technicians working with multiple protocols or network topologies such as Bluetooth, Ethernet, and serial.

FTS for Bluetooth is an indispensable tool for Bluetooth development and field test applications, because it enables engineers and technicians to identify Bluetooth protocol-related problems as they occur, at any point in the data stream. FTS for Bluetooth significantly reduces product development cycles, software debug intervals, and field troubleshooting intervals. The product has received formal certification from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), and is compliant with Version 1.1 of the Bluetooth specification.

About Frontline Test Equipment, Inc.

Founded in 1991, Frontline Test Equipment, Inc. designs, develops, markets, and supports cost-effective, PC-based data communication test tools for the computer and communications industries. (Please see www.fte.com for details.) Frontline is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, with a worldwide installed base of data communication analyzers and testers exceeding 30,000.

Contact Information

For additional information regarding FTS for Bluetooth or Frontline Test Equipment, Inc. access www.fte.com, or contact Frontline Test Equipment at P.O. Box 7507, Charlottesville, VA, 22906-75007.

Contact for FTS for Bluetooth: Eric Kaplan, [phone]; Email: [e-mail]; Fax: [phone]

Frontline Test System and Frontline are registered trademarks; and FTS and FTS for Bluetooth are trademarks of Frontline Test Equipment, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.