Bluetooth is a connection-oriented protocol designed to handle continuous streaming of data at relatively high speeds, making it well-suited to connecting wireless headsets to cell phones. While attempting to remain low power, most changes to the Bluetooth specification have concentrated on boosting the data rate. The basic rate (BR) enables synchronous and asynchronous connections at up to 720 kbps. Bluetooth Version 2.0 (2004) added an extended data rate (EDR) of 3 Mbps (in practice more like 2.1 Mbps). Bluetooth 3.0 (2009) added a high-speed (HS) data capability of up to 24 Mbps by using an alternative MAC/PHY (AMP) that communicates over a co-located 802.11 link. Despite some clever engineering, the quest for higher speed necessarily resulted in higher power consumption.

Bluetooth Low Energy, in contrast, was designed from the beginning to be an ultra-low-power (ULP) protocol to service short range wireless devices that may need to run for months or even years on a single coin cell battery. Introduced in Bluetooth Version 4.0 (2010), Bluetooth Low Energy uses a simple stack that enables asynchronous communication with low-power devices, such as wireless sensors that send low volumes of data at infrequent intervals. Connections can be established quickly and released as soon as the data exchange is complete, minimizing PA on time and thus power consumption. Continued

Despite this inconvenient truth–or rather because of it–on June 28, 2010 President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum that directed the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), to collaborate with the FCC to produce a ten-year plan and timetable for making available 500 megahertz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum suitable for wireless broadband use, while taking into account the need to ensure there is no loss of existing critical government capabilities and the need for appropriate enforcement mechanisms and authorities.

The NTIA and DOC have subsequently release two reports that include:

1. A Ten-Year Plan and Timetable to make 500 megahertz of Federal and non-Federal
   spectrum available for wireless broadband use; and
2. Fast Track Evaluation of the 1675-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, 3500-3650 MHz, and
   4200-4220 MHz and 4380-4400 MHz bands.

The NTIA has identified 2,200 megahertz of spectrum to evaluate for wireless broadband opportunities, including the four fast-track bands, as candidate bands for review. The report provides a roadmap for identifying wireless spectrum assigned to both Federal and non-Federal users that can be allocated for wireless broadband, as well as for using all spectrum more efficiently.

A detailed fact sheet spelling out the highlights of the reports is available here. The bottom line is that it should be no problem to find a spare 500 MHz of useful spectrum out of the proposed 2,200 MHz…after the FCC holds more meetings to hear from and address the concerns of a wide range of stakeholders.

That won’t be easy and it won’t happen overnight. But at some point it will happen. When it does, expect to see an outpouring of applications to take advantage of the newly opened spectrum. When the FCC opened up the ISM bands to unlicensed devices it gave rise to new wireless technologies that created multi-billion dollar industries. I’d expect nothing less the next time around.

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• Special coverage of software-defined radio (SDR) and cognitive radio
• SDR hands-on projects using the Ettus USRP Classic board and variety of RF front ends and open-source software tools
• Hands-on evaluations of RF evaluation and development kits
• Low-power wireless tutorials, videos, design notes and white papers

I’ve laid in some new RF test equipment and am anxious to start playing with my new toys!

We need contributed articles, both for the launch and on an ongoing basis. Articles should be 1500-2500 words in length and problem/solution oriented–NO marketing pitches, please! Like Low-Power Design, this is an online magazine for design engineers developing RF/wireless products. We need to to share your insights and tell how you managed to solve the problem at hand. Think EDN (I’m an ex-EDN editor and retain that bias).

While our strength will be RF engineering articles, Low-Power Wireless will rely on sponsors as well as advertising. If you’re at all interested in helping sponsor us–for which you get a lot of perks, not to mention thanks–or advertise on the site or in our newsletter (10K circ.), you can download our media kit here.

Key dates are:

• April 23—Submit article abstracts for approval. To submit an abstract or for editorial inquiries click here.
• April 30—Book ads.
• May 7—Submit final article copy with graphics
• May 7—Submit final ad copy
• May 21— Low-Power Wireless goes live

We hope you’re as excited about this development as we are, and we’ll do all we can to meet and exceed your expectations.