IMPROVING THE MAC LAYER OF MULTI-HOP NETWORKS
04 January 2004
Ad hoc and multihop networks will probably be a part of the fourth generation of wireless networks, which will integrate networks of several sizes and capacities with heterogeneous coverage: cellular networks (3G), WLAN hot spots, wireless personal area networks (WPAN) and wireless body area networks (WBAN). In this context, MAC protocols play a deciding role for a high utilization of the wireless channel. In this paper, several issues of the MAC layer and concepts for the definition of a new MAC protocol are presented. These concepts include synchronization, multiuser diversity, and multipacket reception. It is shown that all these techniques can drastically increase the capacity of the MAC layer for multihop networks.