  Bluetooth (BT) mesh is a new mode of BT operation for low-energy devices that
offers group-based publish-subscribe as a network service with additional
caching capabilities. These features resemble concepts of information-centric
networking (ICN), and the analogy to ICN has been repeatedly drawn in the BT
community. In this paper, we compare BT mesh with ICN both conceptually and in
real-world experiments. We contrast both architectures and their design
decisions in detail. Experiments are performed on an IoT testbed using NDN/CCNx
and BT mesh on constrained RIOT nodes. Our findings indicate significant
differences both in concepts and in real-world performance. Supported by new
insights, we identify synergies and sketch a design of a BT-ICN that benefits
from both worlds.
