Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Do you own an Echo Studio, an Echo Dot, or a Ring Floodlight Cam? If so, Amazon is about to introduce your device to a new type of network it calls Sidewalk, which is meant to help extend the range of its low-bandwidth devices (so that if your network goes down, for example, your Dot can piggyback on your neighbors’), and also to make location devices such as Tile more efficient.
According to Amazon, Sidewalk will use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the 900MHz spectrum, and other frequencies “to simplify new device setup, extend the low-bandwidth working range of devices, and help devices stay online and up-to-date even if they are outside the range of home Wi-Fi.” It will do this by essentially sharing the connectivity of your compatible…
