Networking gets personal

The Bluetooth wireless communication standard is much more than a convenient replacement for cables. With their capacity for autonomous interaction and rich functionality, Bluetooth devices will end the hassle in our gadget-laden lives. World-wide operation is supported by the use of the globally available unlicensed Industrial-Scientific-Medical (ISM) band (2-4 GHz), which Bluetooth shares with the 802.11b wireless LAN standard, or WiFi, and some tens of millions of microwave ovens. Interference risks are minimised by the use of a frequency-hopping spread-spectrum transmission scheme.