IEEE 802.15.4

IEEE 802.15.4 plays an important role as the physical and data link layer for other IoT protocols, including ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, WirelessHART, and Thread. Basically, 802.15.4 is designed to operate using either point-to-point or star topologies and is ideal for use in low-power or low-speed environments. Furthermore, 802.15.4 devices operate in the 915 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency ranges, support data rates up to 250 kb/s and communication ranges of roughly 10 meters. The physical layer is responsible for managing RF network access, while the MAC layer is responsible for managing transmission and receipt of frames onto the data link.