When Next-Gen Sensing Meets Legacy Wi-Fi: Performance Analyses of IEEE 802.11bf and IEEE 802.11ax Coexistence

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Main Authors: Keshtiarast, Navid, Bishoyi, Pradyumna Kumar, Lumbantobing, Ido Manuel, Petrova, Marina
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Keshtiarast, Navid
Bishoyi, Pradyumna Kumar
Lumbantobing, Ido Manuel
Petrova, Marina
author_facet Keshtiarast, Navid
Bishoyi, Pradyumna Kumar
Lumbantobing, Ido Manuel
Petrova, Marina
contents Sensing is emerging as a vital future service in next-generation wireless networks, enabling applications such as object localization and activity recognition. The IEEE 802.11bf standard extends Wi-Fi capabilities to incorporate these sensing functionalities. However, coexistence with legacy Wi-Fi in densely populated networks poses challenges, as contention for channels can impair both sensing and communication quality. This paper develops an analytical framework and a system-level simulation in ns-3 to evaluate the coexistence of IEEE 802.11bf and legacy 802.11ax in terms of sensing delay and communication throughput. Forthis purpose, we have developed a dedicated ns-3 module forIEEE 802.11bf, which is made publicly available as open-source. We provide the first coexistence analysis between IEEE 802.11bfand IEEE 802.11ax, supported by link-level simulation in ns-3to assess the impact on sensing delay and network performance. Key parameters, including sensing intervals, access categories, network densities, and antenna configurations, are systematically analyzed to understand their influence on the sensing delay and aggregated network throughput. The evaluation is further extended to a realistic indoor office environment modeled after the 3GPP TR 38.901 standard. Our findings reveal key trade-offs between sensing intervals and throughput and the need for balanced sensing parameters to ensure effective coexistence in Wi-Fi networks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_04637
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle When Next-Gen Sensing Meets Legacy Wi-Fi: Performance Analyses of IEEE 802.11bf and IEEE 802.11ax Coexistence
Keshtiarast, Navid
Bishoyi, Pradyumna Kumar
Lumbantobing, Ido Manuel
Petrova, Marina
Networking and Internet Architecture
Systems and Control
Sensing is emerging as a vital future service in next-generation wireless networks, enabling applications such as object localization and activity recognition. The IEEE 802.11bf standard extends Wi-Fi capabilities to incorporate these sensing functionalities. However, coexistence with legacy Wi-Fi in densely populated networks poses challenges, as contention for channels can impair both sensing and communication quality. This paper develops an analytical framework and a system-level simulation in ns-3 to evaluate the coexistence of IEEE 802.11bf and legacy 802.11ax in terms of sensing delay and communication throughput. Forthis purpose, we have developed a dedicated ns-3 module forIEEE 802.11bf, which is made publicly available as open-source. We provide the first coexistence analysis between IEEE 802.11bfand IEEE 802.11ax, supported by link-level simulation in ns-3to assess the impact on sensing delay and network performance. Key parameters, including sensing intervals, access categories, network densities, and antenna configurations, are systematically analyzed to understand their influence on the sensing delay and aggregated network throughput. The evaluation is further extended to a realistic indoor office environment modeled after the 3GPP TR 38.901 standard. Our findings reveal key trade-offs between sensing intervals and throughput and the need for balanced sensing parameters to ensure effective coexistence in Wi-Fi networks.
title When Next-Gen Sensing Meets Legacy Wi-Fi: Performance Analyses of IEEE 802.11bf and IEEE 802.11ax Coexistence
topic Networking and Internet Architecture
Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.04637