Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

A WPAN (Wireless PAN) is a short-distance wireless network specifically designed to support portable and mobile computing devices such as PCs, PDAs, wireless printers and storage devices, cell phones, pagers, set-top boxes, and a variety of consumer electronics equipment. Bluetooth is an example of a wireless PAN that allows devices within close proximity to join together in ad hoc wireless networks in order to exchange information. Many cell phones have two radio interfaces-one for the cellular network and one for PAN connections.

WPANs such as Bluetooth provide the bandwidth and convenience to make data exchange practical for mobile devices such as palm computers. Bluetooth overcomes many of the complications of other mobile data systems such as cellular packet data systems...