Performance Evaluation for Multi-cell WLAN

Performance of WLANs (Wireless Local Area Network) has been investigated for many years. However, most of the investigations have been performed on a single cell scenario. Realistic WLANs´ deployment scenario are based on multi-cell configuration, the throughput per cell is considerably reduced compared to the single cell case. This paper proposes a new multi-cell WLAN model consisting of four non overlapping channels instead of the well known model consisting of three non overlapping channels, which increases throughput per cell. The impact of ACI (Adjacent Channel Interference) on downlink throughput is assessed. Moreover, throughput is compared when RTS/CTS (Ready To Send/Clear To Send) mechanism is activated and is deactivated. Simulation result shows the reduction of throughput due to RTS/CTS mechanism is greater than the ACI considering three adjacent channels.