1. doc.: IEEE 802.15- Submission, Slide 1 Project: IEEE P802.15 Working Group for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) Submission Title: [Communicating Revision Level] Date Submitted: [18 November, 2004] Source: [Robert Poor] Company [Ember Corporation] Address [343 Congress Street, Boston MA USA] Voice:[+1 617 951-1231], FAX: [+1 617 951-0999], E-Mail:[rpoor@ieee.org] Re: [Contribution for 15-04-0037-00-004b PAR] Abstract:[This document proposes a mechanism for communicating the revision level of 802.15.4b devices.] Purpose:[This document is submitted for consideration for revisions to the 802.15.4-2003 specification.] Notice:This document has been prepared to assist the IEEE P802.15. It is offered as a basis for discussion and is not binding on the contributing individual(s) or organization(s). The material in this document is subject to change in form and content after further study. The contributor(s) reserve(s) the right to add, amend or withdraw material contained herein. Release:The contributor acknowledges and accepts that this contribution becomes the property of IEEE and may be made publicly available by P802.15.

2. doc.: IEEE 802.15- Submission, Slide 2 Communicating Revision Level in 802.15.4b devices Robert Poor Ember Corporation rpoor@ieee.org

3. doc.: IEEE 802.15- Submission, Slide 3 Problem Statement The 15.4b PAR calls for a “mechanism for communicating the revision level”. For backward compatibility, implementations may wish to examine packet type and respond differently for devices operating under 802.15.4-2003 (“legacy”) and under 802.15.4b.

4. doc.: IEEE 802.15- Submission, Slide 4 Extend Frame Type bits Section 7.2.1.1.1: Extend Frame Type Subfield (table 65) [Credit due to Robert Cragie for the suggestion.] Bits“legacy”15.4b 000Beacon15.4 Beacon 001Data15.4 Data 010Acknowledgement15.4 Acknowledgement 011MAC Command15.4 MAC Command 100Reserved15.4b Beacon 101Reserved15.4b Data 110Reserved15.4b Acknowledgement 111Reserved15.4b MAC Command

5. doc.: IEEE 802.15- Submission, Slide 5 Validate Reserved Fields Section 7.2.1.1: Frame Control Field (Figure 35) Define Reserved Fields (bits 7-9 and 12-13) to be written as zero and verified as zero upon reception. Frames received containing non-zero reserved bits will be discarded without notifying higher levels. Bits 0-234567-910-1112-1314-15 Frame Type Security enabled Frame Pending Ack Request Intra- PAN Reserved Dest Addr Mode Reserved Source Addr Mode

6. doc.: IEEE 802.15- Submission, Slide 6 Other notes Future versions may read and write non-zero values in Frame Type Subfield to define additional versions. Other reserved fields may be available (e.g. PPDU, Addressing Mode Subfields)