Written by: Magnus Frodigh, Per Johansson and Peter Larsson

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Today, many people carry numerous portable devices, such as laptops, mobile phones, PDAs and mp3 players, for use in their professional and private lives. For the most part, these devices are used separately—that is, their applications do not interact. Imagine, however, if they could interact directly: participants at a meeting could share documents or presentations; business cards would automatically find their way into the address register on a laptop and the number register on a mobile phone; as commuters exit a train, their laptops could remain online; likewise, incoming e-mail could now be diverted to their PDAs; finally, as they enter the office, all communication could automatically be routed through the wireless corporate campus network.

These examples of spontaneous, ad hoc wireless communication between devices might be loosely defined as a scheme, often referred to as ad hoc networking, which allows devices to establish communication, anytime and anywhere without the aid of a central infrastructure. Actually, ad hoc networking as such is not new, but the setting, usage and players are. In the past, the notion of ad hoc networks was often associated with communication on combat fields and at the site of a disaster area; now, as novel technologies such as Bluetooth materialize, the scenario of ad hoc networking is likely to change, as is its importance. In this article, the authors describe the concept of ad hoc networking by giving its background and presenting some of the technical challenges it poses. The authors also point out some of the applications that can be envisioned for ad hoc networking.

[First published in Ericsson Review no. 04, 2000]