A quantitative comparison of multiple access control protocols for integrated voice and data services in a cellular wireless network

Abstract

The multiple access control (MAC) problem in a wireless network has intrigued researchers for years. An effective MAC protocol is very much desired because efficient allocation of channel bandwidth is imperative in accommodating a large user population with satisfactory quality of service. MAC protocols for integrated data and voice services in a cellular wireless network are even more intricate to design due to the dynamic user population size and traffic demands. Considerable research efforts expended in tackling the problem have resulted in a myriad of MAC protocols. While each protocol is individually shown to be effective by the respective designers, it is unclear how these different protocols compare against each other on a unified basis. In this paper, we quantitatively compare six recently proposed TDMA-based MAC protocols for integrated wireless data and voice services. We first propose a taxonomy of TDMA-based protocols, from which we carefully select six protocols, namely CHARISMA, D-TDMA/VR, D-TDMA/FR, DRMA, RAMA, and RMAV, such that they are devised based on rather orthogonal design philosophies. The objective of our comparison is to highlight the merits and demerits of different protocol designs.