The computer industry is famous for its confusing three-letter acronyms (TLAs) and fancy product names which don't have any meaning except to industry professionals.

So why should anyone get excited about Bluetooth? Because the IT industry says so - that's why!

Bluetooth, obscurely named after a long dead Viking king, is all about creating 'cable-free' digital radio links between a wide variety of devices such as phones, computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), printers and a host of lesser devices.

It makes them all talk to each other without conflicts or confusion.

It sounds too good to be true but a growing number of top technologists are hanging their hats on the Bluetooth radio communications peg.

Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia, TDK and a raft of leading vendors are now actively backing Bluetooth research and development .

Technically, Bluetooth is fairly basic. The radios will operate in the 2.4-GHz range, using frequency-hopping techniques to keep communication flowing even in spaces that are digitally 'noisy'.

Bluetooth uses both synchronous and asynchronous communications.

Bluetooth's synchronous bands are optimised to carry relatively high-quality voice traffic, while the asynchronous communication will support data transfer at slightly more than 700 Kbps. Distance is limited to about ten metres.

Bluetooth appeals to the corporate money men.

The radios are expected to cost around £12 at first but this price could drop to £3 as acceptance of the technology becomes more widespread. This means that devices incorporating Bluetooth will be reasonably affordable.

Making Bluetooth work will require a general purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU) which can handle the lightweight networking and data-link protocols that govern Bluetooth transmissions.

This means we won't be seeing Bluetooth-enabled bedside lights in the near future but we may see enabled heating controllers and refrigerators.

Frankly, this may not be much of a loss as being able to turn on lights with a mobile phone seems rather silly to most people.

But Bluetooth enthusiasts insist there is much more to it.

Bluetooth relies on a very simple set of protocols.

It only works with eight separate devices and relies on a form of 'frequency hopping' to allow a number of Bluetooth users to operate in the same vicinity.

Although the low-level Bluetooth protocols are fairly well-developed, research is still needed to define a way for devices to identify themselves and to tell the user which of their devices is online at any specific time.

This gives some serious cause for concern because currently there is no accepted way of telling whether the business traveller who is downloading e-mail via Bluetooth is using their own mobile phone or a phone belonging to another person sitting a few seats down the line.

Security is a major issue for Bluetooth users. Much of the controversy surrounding the subject revolves around the ease with which a person using Bluetooth-enabled equipment can currently eavesdrop on another Bluetooth user.

New security measures will need to be developed before it can become an industry-standard product.

Many IT industry experts believe that within three to five years, Bluetooth will be an integral part of our lives.

But unless the IT industry wakes up to the idea that Bluetooth needs to be safe to use and offers practical applications for a mass market, it is unlikely the technology will succeed no matter how much hype is applied to it.

www.bluetooth.com
www.intel.com/mobile/bluetooth/
www.bluetoothcongress.com