Which IEEE standard is commonly used at the data link layer for an access network, in an IoT environment?

Question

Options

• AWireless Regional Area Network
• BLow-Rate Wireless Network
• CWireless Local Area Network
• DBroadband wireless metropolitan Network

• A
  4% (2)
• B
  86% (43)
• C
  2% (1)
• D
  8% (4)

Explanation

IEEE 802.15.4 (Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network) is the standard behind option B, and it's the go-to choice for IoT access networks because it's specifically engineered for low-power, low-data-rate, short-range communication - exactly the constraints of battery-operated sensors and embedded devices operating at the data link layer.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (Wireless Regional Area Network / IEEE 802.22) covers large rural/regional areas with high bandwidth - far too broad in scope and power for constrained IoT devices.
• C (Wireless Local Area Network / IEEE 802.11 / Wi-Fi) is power-hungry and bandwidth-heavy, making it poorly suited for the low-energy, infrequent-transmission nature of most IoT nodes.
• D (Broadband Wireless Metropolitan / IEEE 802.16 / WiMAX) targets wide-area broadband delivery, not the constrained, small-packet communication patterns of IoT.

Memory tip: Think "IoT = tiny, slow, cheap" - the only option with "Low-Rate" in the name matches that profile. Protocols like Zigbee and 6LoWPAN are built directly on top of 802.15.4, which reinforces why it's the dominant data link standard in IoT access networks.

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