Fair power-controlled multiple access in mobile ad hoc networks

Previous power-controlled media access control (MAC) protocols for mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) suffer from the unfair channel access problem, i.e., it is difficult for a node to communicate with a distant node because of nearby ongoing communications. In this paper, we propose a fair power-controlled MAC protocol (FPCMA) by integrating sender-initiated busy tone with traditional power-controlled protocol. The sender-initiated busy tone is used to assist in channel access, and will be set up when a node finds it difficult to access the channel. Nearby nodes overhearing the tone will yield their transmission rights to the attempting node, thus solving the unfairness problem. Through analysis and simulation, we demonstrate that our protocol is able to balance the tradeoff between fair channel access and throughput, and is therefore more flexible than both the traditional dual busy tone and power-controlled MAC protocols.