Wired up with Bluetooth

(PRWEB) February 23, 2004--The deluge of mobile phones, mobile PCs, and other portable devices wires up the country with a promising technology called Bluetooth.

Bluetooth, a royalty-free and open specification technology developed by a consortium of top telecommunications and computer manufacturing companies including Ericsson, Intel, IBM, Nokia, and Toshiba in 1988, is based on a low-cost, short-range radio link, cutting the cords that used to tie up digital devices. Its applications are endless; from file transfer, data synchronization (schedule, telephone book), data exchange (business cards), voice transmission (headset and cordless telephony), image transfer, and LAN Access.

And this technology continues to be in the hub of interest of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

ASTI works on a project that integrates Bluetooth hardware and customizes open source software into a low-cost solution that local software developers can afford.

The project basically addresses a major gap in our countrys bid to become a key global player in software development --the lack of capability to produce advanced, locally developed and branded software that can be marketed internationally," said Billy Pucyutan, Project Leader of the Mobile Systems and Applications Group (MSAG) of ASTI.

Mr. Pucyutan further added that through this kind of Research and Development initiative, local developers will have a chance to gain access to low-cost development solutions and shift from low-value added software programming services to quality, value-rich original software development. He said that the project will be a significant boost to the countrys software industry which is currently engaged mainly in customizing web-based software and business applications for foreign countries.

Funding the project

A total of P 5 M was released for the project by the Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD), one of the councils of DOST tasked to develop, integrate and coordinate the national research systems for advanced science and technology and related fields. The ASTI project is being implemented under the information and communication technology program of PCASTRD.

According to Dr. Ida F. Dalmacio, PCASTRD Executive Director, the support provided to the ASTI project is part of our efforts to develop countrys capability in the information and communications technology (ICT)." She affirms that ICT would still be the major economic force this year as evidenced by the continued investments in the manufacture of ICT accessories, spare parts and equipment as well as in IT services sub-sectors in the year 2003.

Support for ASTIs Bluetooth technology project is part of our response to the markets demand for new, innovative applications and value-added services," Dalmacio added.

For more information on ASTIs Bluetooth Project, you may contact Mr. Billy Pucyutan at telephone no. 426-9759 or email mobilesys@asti.dost.gov.ph or visit the website http://mobilesys.asti.dost.gov.ph. (Janet Rosalie Anne H. Polita)