Scheduling multimedia information delivery over unicast wireless channels

Wireless communication channels are generally characterized by the availability of low bandwidth. Hence, the exchange of multimedia information is normally done over a single or unicast channel. Multimedia information presentation can have certain constraints, such as precedence of one page of information with respect to another or the time of availability of information. Multimedia information delivery needs to be scheduled based on these constraints. The author models this scheduling problem using a linear programming approach. We suggest the use of approximation algorithms proposed by L.A. Hall et al. (1997) for this purpose. We also present the use of online approximation algorithms for scheduling multimedia information delivery when their availability varies with time. We also present our initial implementation experience