Modeling and optimization of bandwidth request procedure in IEEE 802.16 networks

The WiMAX channel access is controlled by one of the several available Medium Access Control (MAC) procedures. This paper studies the contention-based bandwidth request procedure based on our original analytical model, facilitated by numerical analysis and simulation. We optimize the key parameters of the contention procedure in order to minimize the average bandwidth access delay, thus ensuring the highest possible quality of service to the WiMAX users. We also propose procedures for efficient and accurate estimation of all input parameters to carry out the procedure for bandwidth request optimization. We show that the analytical model and the estimation methods are highly accurate. The practical implementation of the proposed optimization is simple and results in gains of the delay and bandwidth utilization compared to the non-optimized case.