Bluetooth Vs. Clear Technology
Bluetooth and Clear both use wireless networking protocols to transmit data between devices, but each technology has very different uses and implementations. Bluetooth is used to create "personal area networks" between two nearby devices, while the WiMAX technology used by Clear is a wireless Internet connection standard most similar to Wi-Fi.
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Bluetooth
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A networking protocol for wireless connections between devices at a short distance, Bluetooth has a maximum range of 30 feet, and frequently expects devices to be closer than that for best results. A wireless stereo headset, for example, will have clearest audio when the headset and audio device are worn together. Bluetooth can be used for file transfer and other computer network functions between any two devices, but unlike Internet networking, it cannot create a single network of many devices.
Clear WiMAX
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WiMAX is a method of providing high-speed Internet connections wirelessly, and can best be analogized as "high-speed, long-range Wi-Fi." Unlike a standard Wi-Fi hotspot, a WiMAX antenna has a range measured in miles and provides much faster Internet speeds than is common on Wi-Fi hotspots. Clear uses WiMAX to provide mobile broadband service to its customers, typically to devices that pick up the WiMAX signal and route it to a Wi-Fi router built into the same handheld device.
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Operation
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Many mobile networking devices rely on Bluetooth to connect the handheld device to a laptop, iPad or other handheld computer. In this model, Bluetooth creates a point-to-point connection between the handheld and the cell phone or cellular modem, which then connects to the Internet over a 3G or 4G signal. Clear devices, as of late 2011, do not use Bluetooth for this; instead, they create a Wi-Fi hotspot that connects to several computers in the local area or uses a USB cable connection to provide Internet connectivity to a single device.
Frequency Usage
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Bluetooth and Wi-Fi both operate in the frequency band of 2.4 GHz, which is unlicensed frequency that any device can use without prior approval by the Federal Communications Commission. The 2.4-GHz band can therefore become congested, and a high-power Wi-Fi broadcast can interfere with Bluetooth signals, while Bluetooth can impede weaker Wi-Fi signals. WiMAX operates in licensed frequency, with Clear operating in the 2.5- to 2.7-GHz range; this frequency varies enough with Bluetooth that the two signals do not mutually interfere with each other.
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