Use of fixed device address during connection establishment

Summary form only given. Bluetooth is being envisioned simply as a wire replacement technology. Its most commonly described application is that of a "cordless computer" consisting of several devices including a personal computer, possibly a laptop, keyboard, mouse, joystick, printer, scanner, etc., each equipped with a Bluetooth card. There are no cable connections between these devices, and Bluetooth is to enable seamless communication between all them, essentially replacing what is today achieved through a combination of serial and parallel cables, and infrared links. However, Bluetooth has the potential for being much more than a wire replacement technology, and the Bluetooth standard was indeed drafted with such a more ambitious goal in mind. Bluetooth holds the promise of becoming the technology of choice for ad hoc networks of the future. This paper introduces a number of problems faced by the Bluetooth technology when attempting to use it for building ad hoc networks. The paper provides a brief overview of Bluetooth and describes some of the major issues that need to be addressed, if it is to be successful as a networking technology.