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Wireless & Mobility · Intermediate

BSS Coloring

An 802.11ax identifier (1-63) in the PHY header that distinguishes overlapping BSSs on the same channel.

Definition

With BSS coloring, a station can quickly identify whether a frame is from its own BSS or an overlapping BSS (OBSS). Combined with spatial reuse rules, it can ignore weak OBSS frames and transmit, improving channel reuse. Color collisions are detected and resolved by APs.

Exam tip

BSS color helps mitigate co-channel contention; it is a Wi-Fi 6 feature.

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