Improving Efficiency of Heterogeneous Wi-Fi Networks with Energy-Limited Devices

Abstract

A heterogeneous wireless network consists of various devices that generate different types of traffic with heterogeneous requirements for bandwidth, maximal delay and energy consumption. An example of such networks is a Wi-Fi HaLow network that serves a big number of Machine Type Communication battery-powered devices and several offloading client stations. The first type of devices requires an energy-efficient data transmission protocol, while the second one demands high throughput. In this paper, we consider a mechanism that allocates a special time interval (Protected Interval) inside of which only battery powered-powered devices can transmit. We show that appropriate selection of the Protected Interval duration allows battery-powered devices to consume almost the minimal possible amount of energy on the one hand, and to provide almost the maximal throughput for offloading stations on the other hand. To find such duration, we develop a mathematical model of data transmission in a heterogeneous Wi-Fi network.