Performance analysis of a multiple access protocol for voice and data support in multiuser broadband wireless LANs

Abstract

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) is one of the most promising access technologies for the upcoming fourth-generation wireless
communication systems. In the last few years, several research efforts have been devoted to investigate possible multiple
access schemes capable of supporting real-time traffic as well as best-effort data transmissions. In particular, the use of
suitable transmission schemes allows not only to achieve higher data-rates, but also to perform resource allocation in order
to guarantee specific service requirements. In this paper we propose a medium access control (MAC) scheme for a WLAN supporting
real-time (voice) and best-effort (data) services, based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technique. A
suitable analytical approach is proposed in order to derive the performance of the proposed MAC scheme. In particular, it
is shown in the paper that a high overall network capacity in terms of simultaneously active users is achieved by effectively
exploiting the multiuser capabilities offered by OFDM, together with a proper service differentiation.