Standards & SpectrumL1-L2

Non-802.11 Standards

Reference Spectrum

General / Overview4 rows#

Parameter	Bluetooth Classic	BLE 4.x	BLE 5.x (1M)	BLE 5.x (Coded)	Zigbee (802.15.4)	Z-Wave	Thread	LoRa/LoRaWAN	NB-IoT	LTE-M (Cat-M1)	UWB (802.15.4z)	60 GHz (802.11ad/ay)
IEEE / IETF Standard	IEEE 802.15.1	BT Core 4.x	BT Core 5.x	BT Core 5.x	IEEE 802.15.4	ITU-T G.9959	IEEE 802.15.4 / IETF	LoRa Alliance	3GPP Rel-13+	3GPP Rel-13+	IEEE 802.15.4z	IEEE 802.11ad / 802.11ay
Wi-Fi Alliance / Body	Bluetooth SIG	Bluetooth SIG	Bluetooth SIG	Bluetooth SIG	Zigbee Alliance (CSA)	Z-Wave Alliance	Thread Group	LoRa Alliance	3GPP (cellular)	3GPP (cellular)	FiRa Consortium	WiGig / Wi-Fi Alliance
Primary use case	Audio, HID, file transfer	IoT, beacons, sensors	IoT, audio (BT 5.2+)	Long range IoT, LPWAN	Smart home mesh	Smart home (Europe)	IPv6 mesh for IoT	LPWAN, rural IoT	LPWAN cellular IoT	LTE-M voice/data IoT	Ranging, RTLS	Multi-Gbps short range
Frequency band	2.4 GHz ISM	2.4 GHz ISM	2.4 GHz ISM	2.4 GHz ISM	2.4 GHz / 868/915 MHz	868 MHz (EU) / 908 MHz (US)	2.4 GHz ISM	Sub-GHz (region dependent)	Licensed LTE bands	Licensed LTE bands	3.1-10.6 GHz (UWB)	57-71 GHz (60 GHz band)

PHY Layer Parameters6 rows#

Parameter	Bluetooth Classic	BLE 4.x	BLE 5.x (1M)	BLE 5.x (Coded)	Zigbee (802.15.4)	Z-Wave	Thread	LoRa/LoRaWAN	NB-IoT	LTE-M (Cat-M1)	UWB (802.15.4z)	60 GHz (802.11ad/ay)
Modulation	GFSK / π/4-DQPSK / 8DPSK	GFSK	GFSK	GFSK (FEC coded)	DSSS (O-QPSK)	GFSK / FSK	DSSS (O-QPSK)	CSS (Chirp Spread Spectrum)	SC-FDMA / OFDM (NR)	SC-FDMA	BPSK / QPSK (IR-UWB)	SC-OFDM / OFDM
Max channel BW	1 MHz	2 MHz	2 MHz	2 MHz	2 MHz (2.4 GHz)	200 kHz	2 MHz	125 / 250 / 500 kHz	180 kHz	1.4 MHz	500 MHz	2.16 / 4.32 / 8.64 GHz
Max data rate (physical)	3 Mbps (EDR 8DPSK)	1 Mbps	2 Mbps	125 kbps / 500 kbps	250 kbps	100 kbps	250 kbps	0.3-50 kbps (SF/BW dep.)	~250 kbps DL	~1 Mbps	27 Mbps (HRP)	~7 Gbps (802.11ay)
Typical range (m)	10-100 m	10-30 m	40-100 m	200-400 m	10-100 m	30-100 m	10-30 m	2-15 km (outdoor)	~10 km (outdoor)	~10 km	10-50 m (precise)	~10 m (802.11ad) / ~100 m (ay)
TX power (max, dBm)	20 dBm (Class 1)	10 dBm	20 dBm (Class 1)	20 dBm	20 dBm (2.4 GHz)	25 dBm	20 dBm	14-27 dBm (region)	23 dBm	23 dBm	0 dBm (typical)	10-40 dBm
Typical RX sensitivity (dBm)	-70 to -80 dBm	-93 to -96 dBm	-96 dBm (1 Mbps)	-103 dBm (125 kbps)	-96 dBm	-97 dBm	-96 dBm	-148 dBm (SF12 125kHz)	-114 dBm	-106 dBm	-85 to -90 dBm	-78 dBm (MCS0)

MAC / Network Layer4 rows#

Parameter	Bluetooth Classic	BLE 4.x	BLE 5.x (1M)	BLE 5.x (Coded)	Zigbee (802.15.4)	Z-Wave	Thread	LoRa/LoRaWAN	NB-IoT	LTE-M (Cat-M1)	UWB (802.15.4z)	60 GHz (802.11ad/ay)
Network topology	Point-to-point / piconet (7 slaves)	Star (broadcaster/scanner)	Star / mesh (BT 5.1+)	Star / broadcast	Star / mesh / tree	Mesh (up to 4 hops)	Full mesh (Thread border router)	Star (LoRaWAN gateway)	Star (eNB/gNB)	Star (eNB/gNB)	Star / point-to-point	Point-to-point / PCP
Max nodes per network	8 (piconet); scatternet for more	Unlimited (broadcast)	Unlimited	Unlimited	65,000+	232 devices	65,000+	Millions (LoRaWAN server)	Operator-defined	Operator-defined	N/A	8 (PBSS)
IP support	No (RFCOMM for serial)	Partial (6LoWPAN possible)	Partial	Partial	No (Zigbee IP variant existed but deprecated)	No	Yes (native IPv6)	No (application layer)	Yes (IP over cellular)	Yes	No	Yes
Mesh support	No (piconet/scatternet)	No (5.1+ has direct)	Limited (BT 5 directed)	Limited	Yes (Zigbee mesh)	Yes (Z-Wave mesh)	Yes (IEEE 802.15.4 mesh)	No (star to gateway)	No	No	No	No

Power & Coexistence3 rows#

Parameter	Bluetooth Classic	BLE 4.x	BLE 5.x (1M)	BLE 5.x (Coded)	Zigbee (802.15.4)	Z-Wave	Thread	LoRa/LoRaWAN	NB-IoT	LTE-M (Cat-M1)	UWB (802.15.4z)	60 GHz (802.11ad/ay)
Sleep / power save	Sniff / Hold / Park	Connection intervals (7.5 ms-4 s)	Extended advertising intervals	Extended advertising	Beacon-enabled / non-beacon	FLiRS (beam wakeup)	Sleepy end device	Class A/B/C duty cycle	PSM / eDRX	PSM / eDRX	Low duty cycle ranging	PBSS power save
Typical battery life	Hours-days	Months-years	Months-years	Months-years	Years (coin cell)	Years (coin cell)	Years (coin cell)	Years (LPWAN)	Years (LPWAN)	Months-years	Months	Hours (high data rate)
2.4 GHz coexistence w/ Wi-Fi	PTA required (shares 2.4 GHz)	PTA required	PTA required	N/A (sub-1 GHz or coded)	Shares 2.4 GHz ch 15/20/25/26	Separate sub-GHz band	Shares 2.4 GHz (ch 25/26)	Sub-GHz (no 2.4 GHz issue)	Licensed band (no issue)	Licensed band (no issue)	UWB (no meaningful overlap)	60 GHz (no 2.4/5 GHz issue)

Key Features / Notes1 rows#

Parameter	Bluetooth Classic	BLE 4.x	BLE 5.x (1M)	BLE 5.x (Coded)	Zigbee (802.15.4)	Z-Wave	Thread	LoRa/LoRaWAN	NB-IoT	LTE-M (Cat-M1)	UWB (802.15.4z)	60 GHz (802.11ad/ay)
Key differentiators	BR/EDR + LE dual; widely deployed; A2DP for audio	Extremely low power; simple beaconing; AoA/AoD ranging in 5.1	2× range and 2× speed vs 4.2; LE Audio (LC3 codec) in 5.2+	125/500 kbps coded PHY; ~4× range extension for LPWAN-like BT	Open standard; large ecosystem; ZHA/ZLL/Zigbee 3.0 profiles	Interoperability focus; Z-Wave Long Range adds 1 km+ range in 700 series	IPv6 native; OpenThread open source; used in Apple HomePod, Google Nest	Extremely long range and deep penetration; no license; ADR; Chirp robust to Doppler	3GPP standard; uses existing cellular infrastructure; global SIM roaming	Supports voice; mobility; lower latency than NB-IoT	< 30 cm ranging accuracy; strong multipath rejection; used in Apple AirTag, automotive PKE	Multi-Gbps; line-of-sight required; used in WiGig docking, VR, kiosk