IEEE 802.15.4 low rate - wireless personal area network coexistence issues

Abstract

IEEE 802.15.4 is a proposed standard addressing the needs of low-rate wireless personal area networks or LR-WPAN with a focus on enabling wireless sensor networks. The standard is characterized by maintaining a high level of simplicity, allowing for low cost and low power implementations. Its operational frequency band includes the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific and medical band providing nearly worldwide availability; additionally, this band is also used by other IEEE 802 wireless standards. Coexistence among diverse collocated devices in the 2.4 GHz band is an important issue in order to ensure that each wireless service maintains its desired performance requirements. This paper presents a brief technical introduction of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and analyzes the coexistence impact of an IEEE 802.15.4 network on the IEEE 802.11b devices.