Application Note

Monitoring Interference in the 2.4 GHz

ISM Band with a Real-Time Spectrum
Analyzer

A Brief History of the 2.4 GHz ISM Band

Since the 1940s, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has been in charge of allocating unlicensed
spectrum for use by applications including communications, heating, and research. Regional regulators, such as
the FCC in North America and ETSI in Europe, are responsible for spectrum management and licensing with their
territories. While these regional regulators may place local restrictions on the power density of devices in these
bands to facilitate spectrum reuse and high user density, typically devices developed for use in specific bands
(e.g., 2.4 GHz ISM band) can be legally operated globally.

In the late 1990s, two emerging technologies adopted the 2.4 GHz ISM band for low power consumer
connectivity – IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth®. These technologies rapidly achieved massive consumer
acceptance as they became the standard technologies adopted by manufacturers of cell phones, headsets, PCs,
point-of-payment credit card readers, and children’s toys. More recently, other markets have also adopted the
2.4 GHz ISM band for use by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled smart meter reading and drone controllers. Market
analysists estimate that there are over 10 billion Bluetooth and Wi-Fi devices active in the world today, and that
adoption rates continue to grow as new applications are established1.

Montioring for Interference at 2.4 GHz

With so many active devices in circulation, it is important to be able to monitor the spectrum in any given
location to understand what user experience can be expected. A typical public space, such as a transport hub,
conference center, or shopping mall, may have thousands of active users of the 2.4 GHz spectrum at any given
time. Even domestic homes may see Wi-Fi access points from a number of neighboring properties. In domestic
situations there is the additional possibility that a microwave oven may be in use, which often leak significant
power across the 2.4 GHz band. In these situations, user density can restrict throughput and ultimately user
experience.

802.11 Wi-Fi Radio Behavior in the 2.4 GHz ISM Band

The IEEE introduced the first 802.11 standard in 1997, and was quickly followed up with 802.11b (2.4 GHz) and
802.11a (5 GHz) in 1999. 802.11b supported up to 11 Mbps maximum transmission speed using direct-sequence
spread spectrum (DSSS) modulation. In 2003, the introduction of 802.11g boosted these data rates to 54 Gbps
using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) modulations.

1 “Wi-Fi Alliance® publishes 2018 Wi-Fi® predictions”, Wi-Fi Alliance, https://www.wi-fi.org/news-events/newsroom/wi-fi-alliance-publishes-2018-wi-fi-predic-

tions. Bluetooth Market Update, Bluetooth SIG, https://www.bluetooth.com/blog/the-state-of-bluetooth-in-2018-and-beyond/
 Later standards continued to use OFDM modulation with increasing numbers of sub-carriers and hence
bandwidth.

The IEEE 802.11 standard defines 14 channels in the 2.4 GHz band with each channel typically being about 20
MHz wide (Figure 1). In practice, it is only possible to have 3 or 4 non-overlapping channels. In the USA,
channels 1, 6, and 11 are most commonly used. The access points for these channels continuously transmit
beacon signals so that users can find and connect to their network. While the standard allows for some
flexibility, these beacon packets are typically transmitted every 102.4 ms and have a duration of a few
milliseconds. Beacon signals are transmitted using the lowest modulation scheme supported, which in the 2.4
GHz ISM band is DBPSK or DQPSK (DSSS). When transmitting data between a user device and access point, the
modulation standard changes to OFDM to increase data throughput.

Figure 1. Typical Wi-Fi access point channel mapping in the USA showing three non-overlapping channels.

Bluetooth Radio Behavior in the 2.4 GHz ISM Band

The first release of the Bluetooth Basic Rate (BR) specification was launched by the Bluetooth SIG in 2001,
followed by the Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) specification in 2004. Bluetooth BR and EDR radios use a 79
channel, pseudo-random frequency hopping radio with 1 MHz channel spacing. The hopping rate is 1,600
hops a second, giving a hop interval of 625 µs but the basic packet length is 366 µs. In 2010, a new low energy
version of the standard was released that used fewer channels and shorter packets. This helped reduce
battery consumption and enabled the technology to be used in watches and low-power headsets.

In 2003, Bluetooth Revision 1.2 introduced a technique called adaptive frequency hopping (AFH). AFH
temporarily removes channels from the hopping plan that were experiencing high levels of interference. This
new technique improved the Bluetooth user experience in the presence of high levels of Wi-Fi activity.

Using a Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer to View Activity in the 2.4 GHz ISM Band
Traditionally, swept frequency spectrum analyzers are used to view activity in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. However,
these swept-tuned instruments are not able to give a comprehensive view because most signals in this band
are short in duration and/or frequency hopping at a very fast rate. Monitoring up to 3 Wi-Fi access points and
their connected devices along with Bluetooth devices and other potential users becomes impossible. Even
using a trace maximum hold feature does not show the real-time situation in the spectrum and signals that
appear for short durations may not be seen at all (see Figure 2 for an example).

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 Figure 2. Sweeping the 2.4 GHz ISM band with a standard spectrum analyzer shows many
signals, however, they are not readily identifiable. The blue MaxHold trace can be used to identify
the position of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Advertising packets over a period of time. Wi-Fi activity
in the span is hard to resolve.

Use of a real-time spectrum analyzer (RTSA), like the Anritsu Field Master Pro™ MS2090A, provides a continuous
stream of FFT measurements over a 110 MHz analysis bandwidth, which covers the complete 2.4 GHz ISM band
in a single display. Within this bandwidth, all signals of duration greater than 2.055 µs are captured and
displayed at their full amplitude.

When a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) device is active in the area, the three advertising channels can be seen at
2.402 MHz, 2.426 MHz, and 2,480 MHz (Figure 3). A BLE device transmits the same packet on each of these
channels advertising sequentially and listening devices monitor them in order to establish a connection. The
advertising packets are transmitted every 20 ms to 10.24 seconds, and have a duration of typically 2 ms.

Figure 3. Looking at the same spectrum with the RTSA clearly highlights three Wi-Fi access points at
2.412, 2.437, and 2.462 MHz identified by markers 7, 8, and 9. Other signals are from Bluetooth
devices in the area.

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With the RTSA spanning the full 2.4 GHz ISM band, three Wi-Fi access points are also seen. This is common in
facilities that provide full site Wi-Fi coverage, with geographically adjacent access points separated in frequency.
When the access points are transmitting beacons with PSK modulation and not OFDM data, the occupied
spectrum has the curved shape seen in the display.

Viewing the spectrogram at the same time as the power density, a record is kept of all signals transmitted over
the spectrogram time interval. Each spectrogram line represents the max hold of all FFTs over a 60 ms interval.
As the access points are beaconing 4 ms packets at a 102.4 ms rate, there is always signal detected in the
spectrogram and spectral density displays (Figure 4).

Figure 4. With the spectrogram display, the three Wi-Fi access points and 3 BLE advertising
channels are clearly visible.

When the access points transmit data, the use of OFDM modulation results in a flat top signal spectrum, but still
with a 20 MHz bandwidth (Figure 5). If a Bluetooth device is activated to perform an Inquiry, used to find other
BR/EDR devices in the area, it initiates a fast scanning raster of defined frequencies. This scan raster can clearly
be seen in the spectrogram (Figure 6). In this case, the device was searching for a Bluetooth stereo speaker.
When the connection was established, the two devices reverted to the standard Bluetooth pseudo-random
hopping pattern.

Figure 5. When transmitting data, the highest frequency Wi-Fi access point can be seen to be
transmitting at an OFDM spectrum as opposed to the DSSS modulation used for beaconing.
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 Figure 6. The Bluetooth inquiry scanning raster is clearly visible as the device searches for other Bluetooth
devices in the area.

In cases where the 2.4 GHz spectrum is crowded, the Bluetooth adaptive frequency hopping algorithm kicks in
and drops frequencies from its 79 channel hopping pattern that are not regularly receiving acknowledge packets
from the paired product. In this RTSA spectral density plot (Figure 7), it is clear that the Bluetooth AFH algorithm
has stopped using the channels where the Wi-Fi access point is active.

Figure 7. The spectrogram shows the Bluetooth signal avoiding the three Wi-Fi channels through
implementation of adaptive frequency hopping. The darker blocks represent the frequency hops
of the Bluetooth signal, between the three Wi-Fi channels.

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When a microwave oven is turned on in the same location, it is clear that there is a significant interfering
signal leaking from the product (Figure 8). This typically results in significant dropping of the Bluetooth or
Wi-Fi throughput and even complete communications failure.

Figure 8. The microwave over even at 5 meters from the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi access points transmits
more power in the 2.4 GHz spectrum.

In this example, the Bluetooth audio continued to play smoothly as the adaptive frequency hopping was
still able to find clear spectrum at the upper end of the 2.4 GHz ISM band. The Wi-Fi access point
throughput showed significant degradation with slow file downloading.

The power spectral density plot above the spectrogram continues to display the signal from the Wi-Fi access
points even though they are significantly lower in level than the signal from the microwave oven. This is
often referred to as the “signal within signal” capability of an RTSA. This capability is an invaluable tool for
finding interfering signals that are at the same frequency as the wanted signal but lower in power level.
These signals are almost impossible to detect with standard swept-tuned spectrum analyzers.

Conclusion
This application note highlights the power of an RTSA spectrum analyzer for detailed analysis of crowded
areas of spectrum. The Field Master Pro MS2090A RTSA has a probability of intercept (POI) of 2.055 µs,
meaning it is certain to capture the shortest of packets seen in the ISM bands. The spectrogram feature
provides a view over time of spectral activity and a user settable persistence mode enables identification
signal in signal interferers.

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 Specifications are subject to change without notice.

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