A Long-Term View of Short-Range Wireless

• Authors: David G. Leeper
• Venue: Computer
• Year: 2001

Economic forces and physical laws are driving the growth of a new wireless infrastructure that will become as ubiquitous as lighting and power infrastructures are today. Many expect that the next-generation cellular systems built upon this foundation will bring fast, nearly ubiquitous, wireless data connections to users. At the heart of this new infrastructure lies short-range wireless, a complementary class of emerging technologies meant primarily for indoor use over very short distances. SRW links will offer peak speeds of tens or even hundreds of megabits per second-- at very low cost and with very low power--to many closely spaced users. In its base set of applications, SRW technologies will provide cableless connections among the portable devices people wear and carry daily, including cell phones, headsets, PDAs, laptop computers, digital cameras, audio and video players, and health monitoring devices. Given that SRW links will be unlicensed, and that owners of individual premises rather than government authorities will grant installation permissions, SRW business models may differ radically from those of traditional telecom carriers. Some carriers may see SRW as a threat and actively oppose it, while others may see it as a powerful complement to their current technologies.