Coexistence Study of Low-Power Wide-Area Networks based on Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah) and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT)

This study evaluates the possible coexistence between Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah) based Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN) and non-no-technology (NB-IoT) systems. This study uses SEAMCAT software to analyze potential interference that may arise when both systems are operated simultaneously in the same environment. Both systems use the same frequency of 923 MHz, and the transmitting power used by Wi-Fi HaLow is 23, 24, and 25 dBm. The test results show that the interference probability of Wi-Fi HaLow to NB-IoT ranges from 20% to 100% when the number of active transmitters is varied from 1 to 5000. However, when varying the distance between the two systems, it was found that NB-IoT did not interfere with Wi-Fi HaLow when the distance was above 15 km, with 0% interference probability using 23 and 24 dBm power, while using 25 dBm power, mutual interference between Wi-Fi HaLow and NB-IoT still occurred up to a distance of 17 km, with 20% probability. The safe distance where no interference occurs is 18 km with 25 dBm power.