3Com Enlists Leading Polling and Technology Companies to Conduct World's Largest Interactive Poll; The Planet Project Poll Requires Technologies Never Before Assembled

Business Wire, Oct 4, 2000

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2000

3Com Corporation (Nasdaq:COMS) announced today that leading technology and polling companies are for the first time assembling the technologies needed to facilitate the world's largest Internet-based poll, called the Planet Project(TM). Over four days in November, millions of people in all corners of the world can go to the Planet Project Web site (Web site address: www.planetproject.com) to share and instantly compare their opinions on topics ranging from the thought-provoking to the entertaining.

The technologies required to make the Planet Project poll possible include contributions from nine leading companies, including Harris Interactive; Sun Microsystems, Inc.; Akamai Technologies, Inc.; Oracle Corporation; BEA Systems, Inc.; Mercury Interactive; Macromedia; Eucid, Inc.; and AT&T. Combined with 3Com networking technologies, the technologies of these companies will help bring the Planet Project poll to life.

"The Planet Project event only now is possible because a powerful group of leading companies have rallied behind our vision of connecting the world in an unprecedented way," Bruce Claflin, 3Com president and COO, said from the Planet Project Mission Control center. "The poll is the biggest, fastest, most sophisticated survey of its kind ever attempted, yet the contributions of our partners are ensuring that it will be easy for the world to take. It's a bold demonstration of how technology can be used to foster greater understanding across geographic, cultural and economic barriers."

3Com's own networking technology is critical to the Planet Project poll, particularly at the project's Mission Control in Santa Clara, Calif. The Switch 4007 networks all servers and workstations for the project. In addition, the SuperStack(R) 3900 technology provides the operation with the fast, Gigabit Ethernet connectivity necessary to access the volumes of data throughout the data centers each second. Every phone in Mission Control is a 3Com(R) NBX(R) phone, streaming both voice and data in one network for superior inter-office connectivity. Claflin explains 3Com's technical role in the Planet Project poll as "the glue tying the technologies together."

As the global leader in online market research, with a database of more than 6.6 million online panelists, Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) brings critical expertise to the development of the poll content and methodology. Over the past seven months, Harris Interactive led the development of the poll questions, drawing on 40 years of experience and knowledge from the well-known Harris Poll.

Gordon Black, chairman and CEO of Harris Interactive, said the Planet Project poll represents a sea change in the way public opinion is shared throughout the world. "We've assembled the technologies to allow people to instantly share and compare their views from many countries, on many topics, on a massive scale," he said.

"For every question we're asking, we've probably thrown away another dozen," explained Black. "We wanted questions that were original enough for this unprecedented undertaking, but also questions that made sense and were relevant in different countries, languages and cultures."

Harris Interactive is also responsible for related polling technologies, including systems integration, and development of applications and the database. A battery of Harris Interactive programmers spent in excess of 20,000 hours over several months to create the Web pages necessary to run the poll in eight languages.

The resulting poll will consist of eight topical modules: religion; beliefs and fears; health and well-being; sleep and dreams; self image; marriage; dating and sex; parenting and education; law and order. There are 20 questions per poll topic.

Harris Interactive is working with Eucid, Inc., (www.eucid.com), to analyze the results. Eucid will provide ad hoc analysis, on-demand response and complex visualization of the poll. Eucid's data mining expertise will translate the stream of incoming information into an easily identifiable source of knowledge.

In order to engage people online as well as those who are not connected by the Internet, Planet Pollsters -- volunteers located in the remote corners of the world -- will be equipped with handheld computers and a variety of transmitting devices to facilitate poll taking. These pollsters will make certain that the voices of people without access to the Internet are included in the poll -- those as geographically separated as the indigenous groups in the jungles of the Amazon and Papua New Guinea, ice fishermen in Siberia and rice farmers in Myanmar. After receiving responses, pollsters will transmit the collected data by connecting to networked PCs, handheld modems, mobile phones and -- in the most remote areas -- satellite phones.

Anyone with Internet access can take the poll at www.planetproject.com or at one of the other local country domain names registered. Akamai Technologies' FreeFlow(SM), FreeFlow Streaming(SM) and FirstPoint(SM) services will ensure fast, reliable delivery of rich content and streaming media found on www.planetproject.com, as well as high availability of the site. As the exclusive Internet content and streaming media delivery service provider for the project, Akamai (www.akamai.com) will play a key role in keeping the Web site fully optimized, enabling millions of people around the world to participate in the poll.