Range

What determines range? Bluetooth is designed to achieve a wide communication range between two devices, or between one device and multiple devices.

Bluetooth is one of a number of competing short range wireless communication technologies.

A range of factors determine the range, which are as follows:-

Radio Spectrum

PHY

Receiver Sensitivity

Transmit Power

Antenna gain

Path Loss

Types

There are in fact a few types of Bluetooth technology.

There is the original standard that was first introduced 20 years ago.

There is also BT low energy which, as the name suggests, uses less power, and is therefore suitable for remote IOT sensors.

There is also ‘BT Mesh’, which allows communication between the sender and the receiver end point, to be transmitted via all Bluetooth ‘nodes’ that are within receiving range.

This has the advantage that if the battery fails in one of the ‘nodes’ in the communication path between the sender and the receiver, then communication still happens.

Compare the above with using WiFi, which uses a router, which if it fails, communication stops.

The latest Bluetooth standard is BT 5.

Bluetooth is considered by many to be a short range communications technology, but this doesn’t have to be the case.

Distances of over a Kilometre are possible.

Yesway is based in Lincoln, UK, and can be called on +44 (01522) 740818.

This article was written by Yesway employee Craig Miles