Wireless - Technologies

Wireless- Technologies:

While Bluetooth is generally considered at the forefront of wireless communication technologies, there are several competitors. These are: Infrared Data Association (IrDA), DECT, IEEE 802.11 a and b and HomeRF. Bluetooth is the newest of these technologies, and there are advantages and disadvantages to using any of these other wireless technologies in comparison to Bluetooth.

IrDA has been around for a longer time than Bluetooth, however it is restricted in that it can only operate with another IrDA device when it has a line of sight. Compared to Bluetooth, Infrared is inferior, as it can only handle data transmissions and unlike Bluetooth, cannot permeate walls or any other solid object. [Bray and Sturman, p. 423-4] However, Infrared’s transmission rate is twice the speed of Bluetooth, it uses less power and the Infrared parts costs less than a Bluetooth radio chip. [Miller and Bisdikian, p. 300]

DECT, or Digital Electronic Cordless Telecommunications, is a very secure and high quality wireless communication tool. Even though it is expensive, it has its own frequency band at 1.88 GHz (Bluetooth and other wireless technologies are at 2.4 GHz) that ensures it is interruption free and exceptionally secure. [Smyth, p. 69] The majority of cordless phones sold and used in the UK are DECT phones. [Smyth, p. 69] One of the major advantages of DECT is that, unlike Bluetooth, it is capable of switching to another base station if it moves out of range of the original one. DECT also has a larger data rate, as well as a longer range of transmission compared to Bluetooth. [Bray and Sturman, p. 426]

IEEE 802.11 is the main competitor for Bluetooth. It uses the same frequency band as Bluetooth, which means that the use of Bluetooth and 802.11 at the same time or together is not possible as they cause interference with each other. 802.11b, also known as WiFi, is superior to Bluetooth in one particular area. During a transmission, WiFi is able to choose the highest data rate possible and uses that for a faster, smoother transmission. Bluetooth is only able to use the one data rate. [Morrow, p. 491] 802.11 has been found to have weak security measures that tends to make possible consumers angle away from WiFi with the fear of having their information or identity stolen. [Swaminatha and Elden, p. 12-13]

HomeRF was designed by the HomeRF Working Group (HomeRFWG), who aimed to design an “open industry specification for wireless digital communication between PCs and consumer electronic devices anywhere in and around the home.� [Bray and Sturman, p. 428] So while HomeRF was designed purely for home purposes, Bluetooth was designed with a larger market in mind, incorporating home and business, as becoming a part of an everyday lifestyle. HomeRF and Bluetooth are very similar technologies, however HomeRF has a larger coverage area, implying that it requires more power. Like 802.11, Bluetooth and HomeRF are not compatible together as they both work on the 2.4 GHz unlicensed frequency band.

Bibliography:

• Bray, J. and Sturman, C. 2001. Bluetooth Connect without Cables, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc. ISBN 0130898406
• Miller, B and Bisdikian, C. 2001. Bluetooth Revealed, United States of America: Prentice- Hall, Inc. ISBN 0130672378
• Morrow, R. 2002. Bluetooth Operation and Use, New York: The McGraw- Hill Companies. ISBN 007138779X
• Smyth, P. ed. 2004. Mobile and Wireless Communications: Key Technologies and Future Applications, London: The Institute of Electrical Engineers. ISBN 0863413684
• Swaminatha, T. and Elden, C. 2003. Wireless Security and Privacy: Best Practices and Design Techniques, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN 0201760347

Bluetooth- Security

Erin Watson 19:14, 27 Oct 2004 (EST)