Achieving Good Coexistence in the 2.4 GHz ISM Band

As the worldwide open 2.4 GHz ISM band becomes more and more crowded, good coexistence becomes vital to the successful deployment of an RF solution. The number and types of interferers in the 2.4 GHz band in a domestic setting are growing rapidly, and now include WiFi (IEEE 802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth, portable phones, analogue video and microwave ovens. Poor coexistence leads to packet loss which translates to increased latency and power consumption due to retransmissions. In some cases, the network functionality may be completely impaired by a strong interferer in the vicinity of a receiver. It is vital to consider coexistence when designing an RF system for an uncontrollable end user environment like the domestic setting, which is what this paper is about.