The UWB Alliance has created a white paper discussing testing that the organization recently completed. There are concerns among some industry stakeholders that UWB might interfere with other wireless technologies, especially when UWB devices are used in aggregation. The focus of the testing, conducted in January 2023 at a crowded WeWork facility in Washington, D.C., was on coexistence testing between UWB and WiFi 6e. This study examines how several wireless technologies operating in an increasingly dense wireless environment interact with each other and themselves.
The study shows empirical results of RF and link performance measurements of numerous 802.11ax and UWB devices operating in a typical urban office. Over-the-air performance of several 802.11ax links were tested, including performance in the presence of multiple UWB devices. Numerous variables had measurable impact on the 802.11ax data communication rate and range including the quantity of Wi-Fi 6E devices operating in the area, the presence of people near the APs, as well as the positioning of the people throughout the room. The presence of UWB did not have any measurable impact on 802.11ax performance.
The scope also included determining the ability to detect UWB activity using commercially available spectrum monitoring equipment. While UWB transmissions were easily identified, the quantity of transmitters could not be determined. RF measurements were made to characterize the aggregation effect of multiple UWB transmitters operating in close proximity to each other. Contrary to conventional expectations, UWB power did not aggregate linearly with the number of devices, even when operated at high transmission rates.