In this paper we introduce medium access control (MAC) protocol defined by ETSI TC (technical committee) SmartBAN (smart body area network). The key features of the protocol are a two-channel concept with different channels for data and control traffic, and a unique Multi-use Channel Access as one alternative channel access mode. The two-channel concept provides fast channel acquisition and easy Hub to Hub communications.
Multi-use Channel Access guarantees for very-low latency emergency messaging for time-critical applications. In addition, Re-use Access mode of the Multi-use Channel Access enables the utilization of the scheduled but unused time slots thus increasing the channel utilization. The protocol is mainly a joint work between Centre for Wireless Communications (CWC) at the University of Oulu and Toshiba Research Europe Ltd.