In 1994, the L. M. Ericsson company became interested in connecting its
mobile phones to other devices (e.g., laptops) without cables. Together with four
other companies (IBM, Intel, Nokia, and Toshiba), it formed a SIG (Special Interest Group, i.e., consortium) in 1998 to develop a wireless standard for interconnecting computing and communication devices and accessories using short-range,
low-power, inexpensive wireless radios. The project was named Bluetooth, after
Harald Blaatand (Bluetooth) II (940–981), a Viking king who unified (i.e., conquered) Denmark and Norway, also without cables.