What Does Wireless Personal Area Network [WPAN] Mean?
A wireless personal area network [WPAN] is a type of personal network that uses wireless communication technologies to communicate and transfer data between the user’s connected devices. It allows an individual to connect all or most of his or her devices together and access the Internet or a local network using any of the native/supported wireless communication techniques.
WPAN is also known as a short wireless distance network.
Techopedia Explains Wireless Personal Area Network [WPAN]
WPAN works much like a standard personal area network [PAN] except that it uses a wireless communication medium instead of a wired connection. Typically, the devices in WPAN include peripheral and hand-held devices such as PDAs, smart phones and tablet PCs. A WPAN's range depends on the wireless router's capabilities, access point or the device itself, but it is usually restricted to a house or small office. WPAN can be created using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, infrared, Z-wave or any similar wireless technologies. In some cases, one of the Internet enabled/powered devices acts as an access point and provides network and Internet access to other devices.
For example, a laptop can be connected to the Internet wirelessly by creating a Bluetooth WPAN with a cell phone. The General Packet Radio Service [GPRS] Internet connectivity of the cell phone can be shared with the laptop, and all data packets to and from the laptop are sent over the Bluetooth-powered WPAN.
Terms in this set [29]
These 32-chip sequences are then modulated using a technique called offset quadrature phase shift keying [O-QPSK] , which uses two carrier waves, at different frequencies, that are exactly 90 degrees out of phase and therefore do not interfere with each other. It modulates some of the chips on one carrier and some on the other. Finally, the two signals are combined and transmitted. Figure 5-14 illustrates the modulation of each signal separately; one is called I-Phase, for in-phase, and the other is called Q-Phase, for quadrature signal. The resulting waveform, after combining the two carriers, is similar to QPSK, discussed in Chapter 2.
Students also viewedIEEE 802 is a collection of networking standards that cover the physical and data-link layer specifications for technologies such as Ethernet and wireless. These specifications apply to local area networks [LAN] and metropolitan area networks [MAN]. IEEE 802 also aids in ensuring multi-vendor interoperability by promoting standards for vendors to follow.
Essentially, the IEEE 802 standards help make sure internet services and technologies follow a set of recommended practices so network devices can all work together smoothly.
IEEE 802 is divided into 22 parts that cover the physical and data-link aspects of networking. The family of standards is developed and maintained by the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee, also called the LMSC. IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
The set of standards started in 1979 with a "local network for computer interconnection" standard, which was approved a year later. The LMSC has made more than 70 standards for IEEE 802.
Some commonly used standards include those for Ethernet, bridging and virtual bridged LANs, wireless LAN, wireless PAN, MAN and radio access networks as well as media independent handover services. The better-known specifications include 802.3 Ethernet, 802.11 Wi-Fi and 802.15 Bluetooth/ZigBee. However, some of these standards have been labeled as disbanded or hibernating and are either superseded by newer standards or are being reworked. Using an open process, the LMSC advocates for these standards globally.
Individual "working groups" are decided on and assigned to each area in order to provide each area with an acceptable amount of focus. IEEE 802 specifications also split the data link layer into two different layers -- an LLC layer and a MAC layer.
Standards can be found in a PDF provided by the LMSC for up to six months after they have been published. All standards stay in place until they are replaced with another document or withdrawn.
Why IEEE 802 standards are important
LMSC was formed in 1980 in order to standardize network protocols and provide a path to make compatible devices across numerous industries.
Without these standards, equipment suppliers could manufacture network hardware that would only connect to certain computers. It would be much more difficult to connect to systems not using the same set of networking equipment. Standardizing protocols help ensure that multiple types of devices can connect to multiple network types. It also helps make sure network management isn't the challenge it could be if it wasn't in place.
IEEE 802 will also coordinate with other international standards, such as ISO, to help maintain international standards.
In addition, the "802" in IEEE 802 does not stand for anything with high significance. 802 was just the next numbered project.
Examples of IEEE 802 uses
The IEEE 802 specifications can be used by commercial organizations to ensure their products maintain any newly specified standards. So, for example, the 802.11 specification that applies to Wi-Fi could be used to make sure Wi-Fi devices work together under one standard. In the same way, IEE 802 can help maintain local area network standards.
These specifications can also define what connectivity infrastructure will be used for -- individual networks, or those at a larger organizational scale.
The IEEE 802 specifications apply to hardware and software products. So, to ensure manufacturers don't have any input on the standards, there is a voting protocol in place. This makes sure that one organization does not influence the standards too much.
Working groups
The working groups are the different areas of focus within the 802 specifications. They are numbered from 802.1 onward.
802 | Overview | Basics of physical and logical networking concepts. |
802.1 | Bridging | LAN/MAN bridging and management. Covers management and the lower sub-layers of OSI Layer 2, including MAC-based bridging [Media Access Control], virtual LANs and port-based access control. This also contains the time-sensitive networking task group. |
802.2 | Logical Link | Disbanded |
802.3 | Ethernet | "Grandaddy" of the 802 specifications. Provides asynchronous networking using "carrier sense, multiple access with collision detect" [CSMA/CD] over coax, twisted-pair copper and optical fiber media. Current speeds range from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps. Check on the commonly used list of 802.3 technologies. |
802.4 | Token Bus | Disbanded |
802.5 | Token Ring | Disbanded |
802.6 | Distributed queue dual bus [DQDB] | Superseded. Revision of 802.1D. Superseded by 802.1D-2004. |
802.7 | Broadband LAN Practices | Disbanded |
802.8 | Fiber Optic Practices | Disbanded |
802.9 | Integrated Services LAN | Disbanded |
802.10 | Interoperable LAN security | Disbanded |
802.11 | Wi-Fi | Wireless LAN Media Access Control and Physical Layer specification. 802.11a, b, g, etc. are amendments to the original 802.11 standard. Products that implement 802.11 standards must pass tests and are referred to as "Wi-Fi certified." |
802.11a |
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802.11b |
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802.11d |
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802.11e |
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802.11g |
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802.11h |
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802.11i |
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802.11j |
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802.11k |
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802.11m |
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802.11n |
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802.11x |
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802.12 | Demand Priority | Disbanded |
802.13 | Not used | Not used |
802.14 | Cable modems | Disbanded |
802.15 | Wireless Personal Area Networks | Communications specification that was approved in early 2002 by the IEEE for wireless personal area networks [WPANs]. |
802.15.1 | Bluetooth | Short range [10 m] wireless technology for cordless mouse, keyboard and wireless headphones at 2.4 GHz. |
802.15.3a | UWB | Short-range, high-bandwidth "ultra wideband" link |
802.15.4 | ZigBee | Short-range wireless sensor networks |
802.15.5 | Mesh Network |
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802.16 | Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks | Hibernating. This covers Fixed and Mobile Broadband Wireless Access methods that are used to create Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks. Connects Base Stations to the Internet using OFDM in unlicensed [900 MHz, 2.4, 5.8 GHz] or licensed [700 MHz, 2.5 - 3.6 GHz] frequency bands. Products that implement 802.16 standards can undergo WiMAX> certification testing. |
802.17 | Resilient Packet Ring | Disbanded |
802.18 | Radio Regulatory TAG | Supports IEEE 802 LMSC and IEEE 802 wireless Working Groups. Actively participates in and monitors radio regulatory matters. |
802.19 | Coexistence | Makes standards for coexistence between different wireless standards for unlicensed devices. |
802.20 | Mobile Broadband Wireless Access | Disbanded |
802.21 | Media Independent Handoff | Hibernating. Enables optimization of higher layer services. This includes IoT and handover services -- specifically between IEEE 802 networks. |
802.22 | Wireless Regional Area Network | Hibernating. Creates a standard to enable spectrum sharing. |
802.23 | Emergency Services Working Group | Disbanded |
802.24 | Vertical Applications Technical Advisory Group [TAG] | Focused on application categories which use IEEE 802 Standards, or use multiple work groups. For these, 802.24 acts as a point of contact with other organizations focused on other IEEE 802 standards. 802.24 can also serve as a resource for understanding the IEEE 802 standards by developing white papers and other documents. |
Check here for a list of disbanded and hibernating standards.
All the 802.11 specifications use the Ethernet protocol and Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance [CSMA/CA] for path sharing. The original modulation used in 802.11 was phase-shift keying [PSK]. However, other schemes, such as complementary code keying [CCK], are used in some of the newer specifications. The newer modulation methods provide higher data speed and reduced vulnerability to interference.
This was last updated in October 2020
Next Steps
New IEEE network standards will accommodate 25 GbE.
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- WPAN standards for IoT continue to develop use cases
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- Ethernet in IoT still serves a purpose in the wireless age
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