# State-Of-The-Art and Prospects for Peer-To-Peer Transaction-Based Energy System
## 4 Enabling Technologies for Transaction-Based Energy
### Information Communication Technologies
#### 4.3.1 Communication Technologies in the Microgrid
Applications of WPAN are found in home automation devices, home area network (HAN) and smart metering requiring interaction between sensors and power grid equipment with a low data rate over a short distance. * Wi-Fi: This is based on the IEEE 802.11x family of standards to support point-to-point and point-to-multipoint communication. Wi-Fi can provide a data rate of up to 11 Mbps with the highest standard in the series, 802.11n, providing a maximum data rate of 600 Mbps. The goal of the IEEE 802.11x series is to replace cable/wired networks by offering high network flexibility and low installation cost. However, it has a very limited range, and it is subject to high interference given that it mostly operates in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) radio band. Thus, the IEEE 802.11x series can be useful in MG where the signal interference and data coverage range are low, such as in distribution automation, monitoring and control of DER and customer premises networks, such as home area networks (HANs). * Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX): WiMAX technology is standardized in IEEE 802.16x. The major motivation for WiMAX is to provide last mile broadband wireless access as a substitute to DSL and cable services. WiMAX provides a wider coverage area compared with Wi-Fi, and it also supports mobility and multiple users simultaneously and offers reliability of service. WiMAX can provide a data rate of up to 70 Mbps with the highest standard in the series, 802.16 m, providing a maximum data rate of 1 Gbps for a fixed network and 100 Mbps for a mobile network. Major drawbacks in using WiMAX are the high cost of ownership, high amount of terminal equipment and complex network management. In smart MG, WiMAX is applicable in mobile workforce management and in smart meters. * Third Generation/Fourth Generation (3G/4G): Cellular networks support a wider coverage area compared with other wireless technologies. Thus, they have found application in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems in smart grids. The downsides of cellular networks are their cost and variability in throughput and latency performance. However, research is ongoing to optimize the performance of cellular networks. Thus, new generations of cellular networks that support higher data rates are being developed. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) industrial standard developed 3G cellular technologies. 3G technologies can provide a data rate range of 14.4-84 Mbps for downlink and 5.75-22 Mbps for uplink, with a coverage distance of up to 5 km. The successor of 3G is the 4G network developed for mobile ultra-broadband Internet access supporting a data rate of 362 Mbps-1 Gbps for downlink and 86-500 Mbps for uplink with a coverage distance of up to 100 km. A possible use case in MG communication will be in distribution automation, mobile workforce management and smart metering. * Fifth Generation (5G): This is a proposed future telecommunication technology with higher capacity than the present 4G. The 5G standard should support data rates of tens of megabits per seconds for tens of thousands of multiple users. The latency should be significantly reduced as compared to 4G networks.