Extended coverage and redundancy in “difficult” RF spots are two additional network features that are enabled with multiple gateway support. The extended coverage feature is self-explanatory. If multiple gateways are part of the network and they are positioned so that they cover different areas, the overall range of the network increases.

Redundancy in “difficult” RF spots, on the other hand, refers to improving the availability of the network by positioning gateways in such a way that there is a slight overlap in their individual network coverage. The overlap allows the network to support nodes which might have been deployed in what could be described as a “difficult” RF spot (a location where RF signals are attenuated or where there is a significant amount of RF noise). Therefore, if for some reason the sensor cannot communicate properly with its PAN coordinator, it can join a different PAN coordinator that belongs to the same network and which might be in range.