Analysis of coexistence between IEEE 802.15. 4, BLE and IEEE 802.11 in the 2.4 GHz ISM band

Abstract

The rapid growth of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) has led to a proliferation of low-power wireless technologies. A major challenge in designing an IoT network is to achieve coexistence between different wireless technologies sharing the unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM spectrum. Although there is significant literature on coexistence between IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.11, the coexistence of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) with other technologies remains understudied. In this work, we examine coexistence between IEEE 802.15.4, BLE and IEEE 802.11, which are widely used in residential and industrial wireless applications. We perform a mathematical analysis of the effect of cross-technology interference on the reliability of the affected wireless network in the physical (PHY) layer. We also set up and perform PHY layer experiments to verify the analytical results. Finally, we extend the study to the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. Our findings show that, even though the MAC layer mechanisms of IEEE 802.15.4 and BLE improve reliability, cooperative solutions are required to achieve coexistence