3.1.8 Network access for currently unconnected things
For objects with extremely low power requirements, to send information across the network, several short-range wireless communication protocols exist. In some cases, these protocols are not IP-enabled and must forward information to a connected IP-enabled device, such as a controller or gateway. For example, a device that does not use TCP/IP may still communicate with another device that does using a standard, such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15 (Table 4).
| Bluetooth | ZigBee | NFC | 6LoWPAN |
| The Bluetooth protocol is typically used between devices that are in close range, such as a smartphone connection to a Bluetooth-enabled headset, or a Bluetooth-enabled wireless keyboard connected to a computing device. | ZigBee is another example of an 802.15 protocol suite that uses pairing between a specified source and destination. An example is between a door sensor and a security system that sends an alert when the door is opened. | Near field communication (NFC) is a standard for communicating between things in very close proximity, usually within a few inches. For example, NFC works at point of sale between an RFID tag and the reader. | 6LoWPAN arose from the need to include extremely low-powered devices with limited processing capabilities as part of IoT, for example, smart meters in a small network. |