IEEE 802.11 is a set of media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) specification for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) communication in the Wi-Fi (2.4, 3.6, 5, and 60 GHz) frequency bands. The 802.11 family consists of a series of half-duplex over-the-air modulation techniques that use the same basic protocol. The standards and amendments provide the basis for wireless network products using the Wi-Fi frequency bands. For example, IEEE 802.11n is an amendment that improves upon the previous IEEE 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output antennas (MIMO). IEEE 802.11ac is an amendment to IEEE 802.11 that builds on 802.11n. Changes compared to 802.11n include wider channels (80 or 160 MHz versus 40 MHz) in the 5 GHz band, more spatial streams (up to eight versus four), higher-order modulation (up to 256-QAM vs. 64-QAM), and the addition of Multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). IEEE 802.11ad is an amendment that defines a new physical layer for 802.11 networks to operate in the 60 GHz millimeter wave spectrum. This frequency band has significantly different propagation characteristics than the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands where Wi-Fi networks operate. IEEE 802.11ah defines a WLAN system operating at sub 1 GHz license-exempt bands. 802.11ah can provide improved transmission range compared with the conventional 802.11 WLANs operating in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. 802.11ah can be used for various purposes including large-scale sensor networks, extended range hotspot, and outdoor Wi-Fi for cellular traffic offloading, whereas the available bandwidth is relatively narrow. IEEE 802.11ax is the successor to 802.11ac; it will increase the efficiency of WLAN networks. IEEE 802.11ax is currently at a very early stage of development and has the goal of providing 4× the throughput of 802.11 ac.
Wi-Fi has had, and is expected to continue, tremendous market growth. As the number of devices that support Wi-Fi increases, there is a corresponding value to creating more opportunities to connect using Wi-Fi. Similarly, as there are more opportunities to connect using Wi-Fi, there is increased value in adding Wi-Fi to more and more devices. The need for low power proximity-based device-to-device discovery and data exchange will increase as Wi-Fi continues to penetrate the mobile market. The mobile environment is a highly dynamic place, where there may be hundreds of possible devices of interest, which constantly change.
Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN) is a device-centric discovery that allows devices to find out information from each other directly with very low power consumption. The Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN) program will provide Wi-Fi technology that may be run in devices in background to make the devices ‘neighbor aware’. It enables mobile devices to efficiently discover, as an example, people and services in their proximity. Wi-Fi Aware effectively in dense Wi-Fi environments and complements the high data rate connectivity of Wi-Fi by providing information about people and services in the proximity.
Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN), based on proximity, does not require the real-time connection to a Wi-Fi infrastructure, servers, GPS or other geo-location, but instead uses direct device-to-device Wi-Fi to discover and exchange information. Wi-Fi Aware services offer significant advantages for mobile devices. Discovery of local users and services is based on proximity. Wi-Fi Aware uses direct device-to-device communication and does not require Internet connections or any form of communication infrastructure.
Consumer mobile Wi-Fi devices include Smart phones, tablets, and eventually feature phones, but will also include devices in the Smart Home, in industrial applications either as part of industrial equipment or as devices which communicate directly with each other using NAN. Today the vast majority of these platforms have Wi-Fi in their devices. These mobile Wi-Fi platforms usually have some other Wi-Fi devices within range. Those devices in range are not fixed; new ones come and go, even independent of the user moving. There are many opportunities for users to get interested in shared information and services, which are missed with traditional user-initiated service discovery. Opportunities exist also in geographical areas that have less developed infrastructure networks such as parts of the developing world, where some low-cost suitable substitute for an infrastructure is needed.
The existing device-to-device Wi-Fi communication lacks low power discovery mechanism for peer-to-peer networking. The Wi-Fi Direct pre-association service discovery mechanism does not scale well with hundreds of devices. A solution for service discovery with very low power consumption is sought in a self-managed mobile communications network.