Wireless LANs: Bluetooth

          Bluetooth is an alternative wireless network technology that followed a different development path than the 802.11 family of standards. Bluetooth offers more flexibility than 802.11b but on a smaller range and speed. Its bandwidth is only 500Kbps, and its range is only 10 meters (30 feet). Devices with a Bluetooth radio and an antenna can speak to each other with little or no preparation. For example, conference attendees can readily transfer files across a table using their Bluetooth-enabled notebooks. You can also send a file to a Bluetooth-enabled printer without downloading drivers. Bluetooth may soon be a standard interface on many cell phones, handheld computers, and even home appliances. However, it is going to take sometime before the hardware and software issues are resolved completely. Bluetooth operates at 2.4GHz, and is subject to the same interference problems as 802.11b and 802.11g. Compare the WLAN technologies.