Orlando Magic + 3Com = Nothing But Net

Aug. 7, 2001--3Com Corporation (Nasdaq:COMS) today announced that the NBA's Orlando Magic is deploying a wireless network from 3Com at TD Waterhouse Centre. The wireless network will give Magic coaches and staff members instant, game-day access to players' records and game statistics from courtside and the arena's stands. The Magic will also use the 3Com(R) wireless local area network (WLAN) for similar purposes at home games of the Orlando Miracle WNBA franchise.

One of the most successful expansion franchises in NBA history, the Magic entered the league in 1989 and reached the NBA finals in its fifth season. Now a perennial championship contender, the team has won playoff berths in six of the last eight seasons. The organization's application of 3Com's wireless technology reflects its determination to excel at every aspect of modern basketball operations.

"We selected 3Com's AirConnect(R) wireless solution with confidence based on our solid track record with 3Com and the system's outstanding price/performance," said Marc Glinsboeckel, Magic director of IT. "Using the AirConnect solution, we'll no longer have to set up and break down wired networks for up to 50 home games per season and our staff will receive the quality network access they need during games -- as if they were in our corporate offices."

World Without Wires, a Tampa, Fla. wireless network integrator, worked with RDV Sports, the parent company for the Orlando Magic and Orlando Miracle, to install the 3Com wireless network at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

"We have been working with the Orlando Magic for almost a year now, preparing the network and staff for remote wireless access while on the road. It only made sense to have high-speed local wireless access at home games," said Chuck Palm, president and CIO, World Without Wires. "The 3Com Wi-Fi solution gave them the best bang for the buck and was the simplest piece of the puzzle to install. We had it up and running in just a few days."

As a leading supplier of wireless network technology, 3Com's affordable, high-speed access points and network cards are easy to buy, own and manage. Comparable in performance to most wired networks, the versatile wireless LAN solution delivers a full 11 megabits per second (Mbps) Ethernet connections, enabling companies to improve their productivity by extending their wired networks beyond the desktop to conference rooms, lobbies and other public spaces.

At TD Waterhouse Centre, the Magic will use three wireless access points, which affix easily to walls and ceilings, and roughly 20 WLAN PC cards to carry high-speed wireless connections to laptops used by team officials. The team will also outfit its corporate office with an access point to extend wireless access to conference rooms used for employee orientations.

Using 3Com's solution, Magic coaches, marketing and media relations staff can work comfortably on laptops during games, unhindered by thickets of network cable found in other NBA arenas. Players and NBA game officials will no longer be concerned about tripping or getting tangled in wires. The low-cost, 3Com wireless network also will save TD Waterhouse Centre hundreds of labor hours associated with the set up and breakdown of wired networks at Magic and Miracle games.

"Wireless networking opens up a new world of services that make our staff more productive," concluded the Magic's Glinsboeckel. "3Com's wireless solution clearly is one of the simplest, safest and most convenient technologies we've seen, and one we can foresee using for even more exciting purposes in the years to come."

About World Without Wires, Inc.

World Without Wires (www.worldwow.com), a Tampa, Fla.-based company, provides wireless access solutions to a wide variety of devices and companies. The company focuses on integration of wireless network solutions, using proven products installed by certified engineers. WorldWOW's wireless network access solutions are proven, reliable, and most of all, secure. From LAN to WAN, Internet to Intranet, World Without Wires can make users more productive by enabling access to data when and where they need it.

About 3Com Corporation

3Com simplifies how people connect to information and services through easy-to-use connectivity products and solutions for people and businesses. The company also provides access infrastructures and IP services platforms for network service providers. For further information, visit www.3com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox.

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