Fair and efficient multihop scheduling algorithm for IEEE 802.16 BWA systems

Demand for broadband access networks has grown rapidly with the increased demand for Internet connectivity and multimedia services. Fixed broadband wireless access systems based on the IEEE 802.16 standard may become a viable alternative to wired systems. In particular, the mesh networking capability added into the standard will potentially provide significantly wider broadband wireless coverage without requiring line-of-sight. In this paper, we present a transmission scheduling algorithm for the IEEE 802.16 mesh mode standard. To the best of the authors´ knowledge, this is the first scheduling algorithm for a multihop network based on the 802.16 standard. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm achieves high channel efficiency while providing equal transmission opportunity (i.e., fair access) to all nodes in the network. This study will aid network designers in fine-tuning the details of the communication system for satisfactory performance in the field