Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless protocols: a survey and a comparison

Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) are two communication protocol standards which define a physical layer and a MAC layer for wireless communications within a short range (from a few meters up to 100 meters) with low power consumption (from less than 1 mW up to 100 mW). Bluetooth is oriented to connecting close devices, serving as a substitute for cables, while Wi-Fi is oriented towards computer-to-computer connections, as an extension of or substitution for cabled LANs. In this paper we offer an overview of these popular wireless communication standards, comparing their main features and behaviors in terms of various metrics, including capacity, network topology, security, quality of service support, and power consumption.