Wi-Fi (802.11b) and Bluetooth: enabling coexistence

  • Authors:
  • J. Lansford;A. Stephens;R. Nevo

  • Affiliations:
  • Mobilian Corp.;-;-

  • Venue:
  • IEEE Network: The Magazine of Global Internetworking
  • Year:
  • 2001

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Abstract

This article provides an introduction to issues of coexistence between Bluetooth and Wi-FiTM (IEEE 802.11b), with particular attention to scenarios requiring simultaneous operation, or Sim-OPTM, of both systems in very close proximity. The article explains basic interference mechanisms and quantifies their impact through both actual measurements and simulation. We have developed a detailed simulator that fully models behavior of the physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) of both Bluetooth and 802.11b; it is used to expand the analysis and project the mutual impact of collocated Bluetooth and 802.11b systems across a number of geometries, system parameter settings, and design choices, complementing efforts within the IEEE 802.15.2 Task Group, which are also discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of techniques with the potential to greatly improve the performance of collocated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi systems. A key result of this investigation is that while performance of both systems can degrade when they are collocated, a number of techniques can be employed to virtually eliminate the problems