1. 802.15: “Wireless Specialty Networks”
Projects Summary Overview + Status
June 2019
Clint Powell
Zigbee Alliance - Certification Adv. Group Chair
Zigbee Alliance - IEEE MAC/PHY Adv. Group Chair

2. Disclaimer… IEEE-SA Standards Board Operation Manual (subclause 5.9.3)
11/6/2019
Disclaimer…
“At lectures, symposia, seminars, or educational courses, an individual presenting information on IEEE standards shall make it clear that his or her views should be considered the personal views of that individual rather than the formal position, explanation, or interpretation of the IEEE.”
IEEE-SA Standards Board Operation Manual (subclause 5.9.3) 2

3. Standards Activities Board Local and Metropolitan Area Networks
IEEE 802 Organization
IEEE Standards Association
Standards Activities Board
Sponsor
IEEE 802
Local and Metropolitan Area Networks
(LMSC)
Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor
802.1
Higher
Layer
LAN
Protocols
802.3
CSMA/CD
Ethernet
802.11
Wireless
WLAN
802.15
Wireless
Specialty
Networks
802.16
Wireless
Broadband
Access
802.18
Radio
Regulatory
TAG
802.19
Co-existence WG
802.21
Media
Independent
Handoff
802.22
Wireless
Regional
Area
Networks
802.24
Vertical App. TAG
Privacy
Study
Group
OmniRan
Voting Members: 94

4. IEEE 802.15 Organization Chart

5. Scope and Purpose
Initial activities focused on wearable devices hence “personal area networks”
Focus is on “specialty”, typically short range, communications. If it is wireless and not a LAN, MAN, RAN, or WAN, odds are its
Activities are diverse and varied
Data rates from 2kbps to 100gbs
Ranges from meters to kilometers
Frequencies from 400MHz to 800THz
Predominantly non TCP/IP applications
Only 802 Working Group with multiple MACs

6. 802.15 Completed Projects 802.15.1 (a.k.a. Bluetooth) - Withdrawn
(a.k.a Coexistence) - Withdrawn
High Rate (55 Mbps) Multimedia WPAN
15.3 Amendments:
c - High Rate (>1Gbps) mmWave 15.3 PHY
Revision A - Roll-up of amendments b and c plus conversion from 64 bit to 48 bit MAC addressing
d - THz band 100Gb/s PHY layer for point to point data center applications
e - High-Rate Close Proximity Point-to-Point Communications (initial target use - Japan Olympics)
f - 60GHz Band Extension for 15.3

7. Completed Projects
Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (LR-WPANs ) (initial publication in 2003) Energy Efficient WPAN for WSN type applications
15.4 Amendments/Revisions:
Revision - bug fixes, security update, and add higher rate sub-GHz PHY
a - Higher data rate 15.4 UWB PHY
c - Sub 1 GHz 15.4 PHY for China
d - Sub 1 GHz 15.4 PHY for Japan
e MAC Enhancements (GTS among others)
f PHY for Active RFID
g PHY for Field Area Smart Utility Networks
Revision - roll-up of amendments a, c, and d
j PHY using US dedicated medical band

8. 802.15 Completed Projects 15.4 Amendments/Revisions (cont):
k PHY for Low Energy Critical Infrastructure Monitoring
m PHY for operation in TV White Spaces
n PHY for Chinese Medical Applications
p PHY for Rail Communications and Control
q - Ultra Low Power 15.4 PHY
Revision - bug fixes and roll-up of amendments e, f, g, j, k, m, and p
t - 2 Mbps PHY (includes backwards compatibility mechanism to original 250 kbps O-QPSK)
u MHz to 867 MHz Band in India
v - Regional Sub 1GHz Band (RSB)
Corrigendum (fix errors in format conventions introduced in 2015)

9. 802.15 Completed Projects 15.4 Amendments/Revisions (cont):
s - MAC enhancement for improved spectrum resource utilization
x - FAN Extensions (FANE), Increasing SUN OFDM PHY data rates up to 2.4Mb/s

10. Completed Projects
Mesh Networking Recommended Practice
Body Area Networking for medical and entertainment applications
Short-Range Wireless Optical Communication
15.7 Amendments/Revisions:
Revision - adding IR, near UV, Optical Camera, LED-ID
Peer Aware Communications
KMP-Recommend Practice for a 15.4 Key Management Protocol
Layer 2 Routing Recommended Practice
15.10 Amendments:
a - Routing Module Addressing (RMA)

11. 802.15 Project Stages 3 Main Types of Groups Interest Group
Determines if sufficient interest to form a Study Group
Study Group
Studies general need
Develops PAR and CSD docs if project is warranted
Task Group
Develops Draft
Runs Letter Ballot Voters
Runs SA (Stds. Assoc.) Ballot - Any SA Voters

12. 802.15 Projects Status Projects Status Color Key:
BLACK: no status change
BLACK: status update
GREEN: new project
…Projects continue to be published in 2019

13. 802.15 Active Projects/Status
IEEE High Rate (55 Mbps) Multimedia WPAN Amendments:
STATUS: No new amendments

14. 802.15 Active Projects/Status (cont)
IEEE Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (LR-WPANs ) Amendments/Projects:
md Revision - bug fixes and roll-up of amendments n, q, s, t, u, v, x, and Corrigendum
STATUS: In Letter Ballot Phase - 1st LB Recirculation closes on 7/8/19
w - Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) PHY
STATUS: In Letter Ballot Phase - 1st LB Recirculation closed on 6/7/19

15. 802.15 Active Projects/Status (cont)
IEEE Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (LR-WPANs ) Amendments/Projects (cont):
x - FAN Extensions (FANE), Increasing SUN OFDM PHY data rates up to 2.4Mb/s
STATUS: Published in April 2019
y - Security Next Generation (SECN), Adding AES-256 CCM plus a cipher suite/authentication method registry and a process for inclusion of additional algorithms
STATUS: In Pre-Ballot Phase - hearing content, developing draft. Targeting to submit for initial letter ballot in July 2019

16. 802.15 Active Projects/Status (cont)
IEEE Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (LR-WPANs ) Amendments/Projects (cont):
z - Enhanced Impulse Radio (EIR), Enhancements to the HRP and LRP UWB PHYs and associated ranging techniques
STATUS: In Letter Ballot Phase - 1st LB closed on 5/12/19 (Comments: 2890 spec., 12 rogue, 33 CAD). Face to Face comment resolution meeting held 6/17 - Samsung in Cupertino, CA

17. 802.15 Active Projects/Status
IEEE Mesh Networking Recommended Practice Amendments:
STATUS: No new amendments
IEEE Body Area Networking for medical and entertainment applications Amendments:

18. 802.15 Active Projects/Status (cont)
IEEE Visible Light Communications using structured lighting
Amendments:
a - Standard for Visible Light Communications.
Extend spectral range to include near UV and near IR
Rename to “Optical Wireless Communications”
Add capability to specifically to address Optical Camera Communications for use with existing as well as future smart mobile devices
STATUS: Published in April 2019

19. 802.15 Active Projects/Status
IEEE Peer Aware Communications Amendments:
STATUS: No new amendments
IEEE KMP-Recommended Practice for a 15.4 Key Management Protocol Amendments:

20. 802.15 Active Projects/Status (cont)
IEEE Layer 2 Routing Recommended Practice Amendments:
a - Routing Module Addressing (RMA)
Amendment adding additional routing modes
STATUS: Published in April 2019

21. 802.15 Active Projects/Status (cont)
IEEE New Standards Work (cont):
Upper Layer Interface (ULI) for 15.4
Make IEEE easier to use, like and 802.3
Enable the use of many of the higher layer protocol stacks used by and without changes
Allow 15.4 to address new applications, yet maintain backward compatibility with existing devices and applications
Potentially consolidate L2R, KMP, 6T,& 6lowpan in one ULI
Coordinated with and IETF
STATUS: In Pre-Ballot Phase - hearing content and developing draft. Targeting to submit for initial letter ballot in Nov. 2019

22. 802.15 Active Projects/Status (cont)
IEEE New Standards Work (cont):
Multi-gigabit OWC
Break out from a with a new MAC
STATUS: In Pre-Ballot Phase - preparing for initial letter ballot. Targeting to submit for initial letter ballot in July 2019
TV White Space Spectrum Characterization and Occupancy Sensing
Project moved from to to handle sponsor ballot phase.
STATUS: In Sponsor Ballot Phase - 1st SB closes on 8/18/19

23. 802.15 Active Projects/Status (cont)
IEEE Interest Groups:
THz IG (TAG): Review and discuss the latest advances for using THz bands for wireless data applications.
Dependability IG (DEP): seeking to identify non implementation based strategies, which could be standardized, that inherently improve wireless link reliability.
Profiles IG (PRO):
Vehicular Assistive Technology IG (VAT):
Guide for 15.4 Use IG (Guide):

24. 802.15 Other Activity Joint effort with IETF:
6Tisch Interest Group-formed to support collaboration and coordination of activities/positions with IETF on an activity to utilize capabilities in 15.4e in conjunction with IPv6, specifically time slotted channel hopping (TSCH).
STATUS: Ongoing effort

25. 802.15 Related Activities IEEE802.19 Sub GHz Coexistence SG:
Improved Coexistence – Improving targeted coexistence between and networks.
STATUS: Actively working on coexistence recommended practice for ah and g FSK operating in Sub 1 GHz band. Targeting to submit for initial letter ballot in July 2019
IEEE802.11ax Coexistence Assurance Document (CAD)
STATUS: ax has essentially removed their CAD - this is concerning w.r.t. coexistence of ax with networks – in particular UWB ( a and z) networks. Invitation to vote/comment during SA ballot will go out to all SA members. Currently in Letter Ballot Phase, looking to go to SA Ballot in Aug. 2019

26. Questions? Clint Powell cpowell@ieee.org