Capacity of underwater acoustic OFDM cellular networks

We analyze the capacity of underwater acoustic cellular networks that utilize Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation. The capacity analysis is presented based on a model of the average path loss and frequency-dependent absorption, both of which are distance-dependent. We show that capacity-achieving systems utilize multiple architectural layers, each of which uses a different subband with its own frequency reuse number. We solve the problems of data rate maximization per mobile user, and the transmit power minimization under an average target data rate constraint per cell, for both the single- and multiple-layer architectural solutions. We discuss the practical issues in the implementation of such capacity-achieving underwater acoustic OFDM cellular systems.