Wireless Lans point to Bluetooth decay

Bluetooth will be killed off by wireless Lan technology, according to research released today by Analysys.

The analyst firm's predicts that the Bluetooth short range wireless technology will end up as a casualty in a market increasingly dominated by voice over IP.

"Bluetooth solutions have limited range and are likely to be phased out quickly in favour of wireless Lans as issues with handset power consumptions are resolved," said report co-author Dr Alastair Brydon.

VoIP over wireless technologies such as 3G, wireless Lans, Bluetooth and broadband wireless access will enable new players to enter the mobile voice market, threatening the voice revenues of existing mobile network operators, the study noted.

But for mobile operators that have invested heavily in 2G and 3G cellular networks, there will be little incentive to offer VoIP services.

Dr Mark Heath, co-author of the report, said: "Their existing networks already deliver better quality voice services at lower cost than VoIP can achieve today.

"However, VoIP may look more attractive to those seeking to bypass mobile operators' voice tariffs, particularly if an opportunity to undercut those tariffs using VoIP arises due to significant falls in 3G data pricing.

"A number of mobile operators have launched unlimited-use data tariffs that could make them vulnerable to customers using VoIP to cut their spend."

Brydon added that WiMax may be a more attractive option for delivering VoIP services wirelessly if network features and terminals are available to support VoIP.