Bluetooth Special Interest Group
Encyclopedia
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
standards
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
and the licensing of the Bluetooth technologies and trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
s to manufacturers. The SIG is a privately held, not-for-profit trade association founded in September 1998. The SIG is headquartered in Kirkland
Kirkland, Washington
Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Seattle on the Eastside . The population was 48,787 at the 2010 census makes it the 9th largest city in King County and the 20th largest city in the state...
, Washington with Michael W. Foley
Michael W. Foley
Michael W. Foley is an American electrical engineer, wireless expert and executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, a consortium of over 12,000 companies who come together to create and promote Bluetooth wireless technology....
presently its executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
. The SIG has local offices in Hong Kong,Taiwan and Beijing, China, Seoul, Korea, Tokyo, Japan and Malmö, Sweden.
The SIG itself does not make, manufacture or sell Bluetooth enabled products.
Introduction
Bluetooth technology provides a way to exchange information between wirelessWireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
devices such as personal digital assistant
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s (PDAs), mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s, laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
s, computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, printers
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
and digital camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s via a secure, low-cost, globally available short-range radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
band. Originally developed by Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
, Bluetooth technology is now used in many different products by many different manufacturers
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
. These manufacturers must be either Associate or Promoter members of(see below) the Bluetooth SIG before they are granted early access to the Bluetooth specifications, but published Bluetooth specifications are available online via the Bluetooth SIG Website http://www.bluetooth.com/ENGLISH/TECHNOLOGY/Pages/default.aspx.
The SIG owns the Bluetooth word mark, figure mark and combination mark. These trademarks are licensed out for use to companies that are incorporating Bluetooth wireless technology into their products. To become a licensee, a company must become a member of the Bluetooth SIG. The SIG also manages the Bluetooth SIG Qualification program, a certification process required for any product using Bluetooth wireless technology and a pre-condition of the intellectual property license for Bluetooth technology. The main tasks for the SIG are to publish the Bluetooth specifications, protect the Bluetooth trademarks and evangelize Bluetooth wireless technology.
At its inception in 1998, the Bluetooth SIG was primarily run by a staff effectively seconded from its member companies. In 2001 Tom Siep served as the group's Managing Director and from 2002-2004 Mike McCamon led the group as its Executive Director. In 2004 he was replaced by Michael W. Foley
Michael W. Foley
Michael W. Foley is an American electrical engineer, wireless expert and executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, a consortium of over 12,000 companies who come together to create and promote Bluetooth wireless technology....
(Mike). Beginning in 2002 a professional staff was hired, composed of operations, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
specialists. From 2002-2004 the Bluetooth SIG was based in Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
USA and is now based in Kirkland, Washington
Kirkland, Washington
Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Seattle on the Eastside . The population was 48,787 at the 2010 census makes it the 9th largest city in King County and the 20th largest city in the state...
. In addition to its professional staff, the SIG is supported by its more than 13,000 member companies who participate in the various working groups that produce the standardization documents and oversee the qualification process for new products and help to evangelize the technology.
Structure
The SIGSpecial Interest Group
A Special Interest Group is a community with an interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to effect or to produce solutions within their particular field, and may communicate, meet, and organize conferences...
members participate in Study Groups, Expert Groups, Working Groups along with committees https://www.bluetooth.org/bluetooth/landing/sig_groups.php.
Study groups
The Study Groups carry out research into their various areas which informs the development of the Bluetooth specifications. They may eventually become Working Groups in their own right.Expert groups
The Expert Groups deal with issues of technical importance to all aspects of Bluetooth development. As with the Study Groups their work informs the Working Groups as well as the corporate groups.Participation in the Expert Groups is restricted to Promoter members and Associate members.
Working Groups
The Working Groups develop new Bluetooth specifications and enhance adopted specifications. They are responsible for the vast majority of published standards and specifications. Participation in the Working Groups is restricted to Promoter members and Associate members.Committees
The committees of the SIG deal with the other aspects of licensing, marketing and review including developing and maintaining the Qualification Process, oversight of the Bluetooth specifications, and developing, improving and maintaining the test methodology and concepts as well as other strategic functions.Membership
Any company incorporating Bluetooth wireless technology into products, using the technology to offer goods and services or simply re-branding a product with Bluetooth technology must become a member of the Bluetooth SIG. There are three levels of corporate membership totaling more than 13,000 members, and individuals from member companies may also participate.Promoter members
These members are the most active in the SIG and have considerable influence over both the strategic and technological directions of Bluetooth as a whole. The current promoter members are:- Ericsson Technology LicensingEricssonEricsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
(founder member) - Intel (founder member)
- Lenovo (since 2005)
- MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
(since 2008) - MotorolaMotorolaMotorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
(since 1999) - NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
(founder member) - ToshibaToshibais a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
(founder member)
(list of Promoter members per Bluetooth SIG website at http://www.bluetooth.com/English/SIG/Pages/default.aspx)
Each Promoter member has one seat (and one vote) on the Board of Directors and the Qualification Review Board (the body responsible for developing and maintaining the qualification process). They each may have multiple staff in the various working groups and committees that comprise the work of the SIG.
The SIG's website carries a https://www.bluetooth.org/apps/directory/default.aspx full list of members].
Associate members
The Bluetooth SIG Associate membership fees have stayed the same since 2006. Associate membership is renewed annually and the yearly fee depends on the individual company's revenue. Companies with annual revenue in excess of $100M US are considered Large Associates and pay annual membership fees of $35,000 US. Small Associates are categorized as those organizations with revenue less than $100M US and join the SIG with an annual membership fee of $7500 US. Associate members of the SIG get early access to draft specifications at versions 0.5 and 0.7 and are eligible to participate and gain a voting seat in working groups and committees--a key opportunity to work with other Associate and Promoter members on enhancing existing specifications. They are also eligible for enhanced marketing support, receive discounts on product qualification listings and SIG events including the annual All Hands Meeting and UnPlugFest (UPF) testing events.Adopter members
Adopter membership in the SIG is free and entitles members to use published Bluetooth wireless specifications and Bluetooth trademarks. Adopter members do not have early access to unpublished specifications and may not participate in working groups or committees to influence the development of the technology.Universities
Universities are accepted for membership. The person registering the institution must have the power and authority to accept the Membership Agreements https://www.bluetooth.org/apps/content/?doc_id=44514 on behalf of the school. Note that students may not register their school, but may create user accounts on the SIG membership portal, www.bluetooth.org, that are associated with their school's existing SIG membership.Qualification
Next to the development of the technology itself, the qualification process is one of the most important aspects of Bluetooth technology, supporting interoperability, conformance to the Bluetooth specifications, and to strengthening the Bluetooth brand. Bluetooth Qualification is a requirement for any product using the technology and a precondition of the intellectual property license for Bluetooth technology. An overview of the process including steps of the Qualification Process and Qualification Types and Fees is available on the Bluetooth SIG public portal, http://www.bluetooth.com/English/Technology/Building/Pages/Qualifications.aspx.The Qualification program enables members to perform most or all of the required Qualification testing, assessment and listing functions. Bluetooth Qualification Experts (BQEs) and Bluetooth Qualification Test Facilities (BQTFs) are still available to members for support of the Qualification process, but are now an optional service. Note that BQTFs are still a requirement for any tests that are CAT-A. Members who are uncertain or unfamiliar with the Qualification Process are encouraged to consider use of one or both of these service types.