The first project standard of the IEEE 802.15 Working Group for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) is derived from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) v1.0 Specifications. The 802.15 group is planning to submit this draft standard to Sponsor Ballot by the third quarter of the year.

The Bluetooth wireless technology is an industry-based specification for a small form-factor, low-cost radio solution providing links between mobile computers, mobile phones and other portable handheld devices, and connectivity to the Internet. The Bluetooth SIG was announced 21 May 1998 and their specification was released publicly on 26 July 1999. The Bluetooth SIG membership has exceeded 1525 companies in February 2000.

"One of the major goals for 802.15, as well as for the Bluetooth SIG, is global use of WPAN technology. Devices using IEEE 802.15.1 WPAN and Bluetooth technology will provide country-to-country usage for travelers. They will be able to be used in cars, airplanes and boats on a global basis," says Bob Heile, Chair of IEEE 802.15.

The standards created by the IEEE 802.15 Working Group will provide the foundation for a broad-range of interoperable consumer devices by establishing universally adopted standards for wireless digital communications. The objective of the 802.15 group is to rapidly create a consensus standard that has broad market applicability and deals effectively with the issues of coexistence with other wireless networking solutions. The unique partnership puts into practice the IEEE-SA's strategic initiative of globalization and it is anticipated that the IEEE-SA membership will increase as a direct result of this major standards project.

The 802.15 group is under one year old, but the progress on the draft standard has prompted the LAN/MAN 802.15 Balloting Pools to be formed. The pool is rapidly being populated with IEEE-SA members. It is anticipated that the Bluetooth SIG will participate in this sponsor-level ballot, bringing in new IEEE-SA membership. Individuals do not have to be IEEE-SA members to join the balloting pool.

Joining a balloting pool ensures that individuals are invited to participate in the LAN/MAN 802.15 balloting group. However, to participate in the balloting group, participants must be IEEE-SA members. The WPAN standard Invitation-to-Ballot is expected to be mailed this spring. Those interested in participating in this IEEE-SA sponsor ballot are encouraged to sign-up for the balloting pool at http://standards.ieee.org/db/balloting/.

The IEEE 802.15 Working Group is part of the 802 Local and Metropolitan Area Network Standards Committee of the IEEE Computer Society. The IEEE-SA is an international membership organization serving today's industries with a complete portfolio of standards programs. The IEEE has more than 340,000 members in approximately 150 countries. Through its members, the IEEE is a leading authority on areas ranging from aerospace, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics.

For more information on 802.15 or to participate, contact Bob Heile (+1 781 466 2057 voice), ; or Ian Gifford (+1 978 442 4640 voice), ; or visit http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/15/. For more information on the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and their specifications, visit http://www.bluetooth.com/.

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