Optimal WiMAX frame packing for minimum energy consumption

Minimizing energy consumption is an urgent and challenging problem. As in any communication system, high energy efficiency in WiMAX systems should be maintained by increasing resource efficiency. Thus, WiMAX resources should be properly utilized by optimizing the construction of downlink (DL) bursts. This paper proposes an energy-efficient scheme that maximizes the use of resources at the base station (BS) by reducing the energy wasted caused by sending padding bits instead of useful data. The problem was formulated as nonlinear integer programming model. Due to the complexity of the problem, this paper presents first the formulation of the base model for optimal DL bursts construction problem assuming the packet is represented by one burst. Then, the formulation is expanded to allow the representation of packets by several bursts. The results show an improvement in data packing that maximizes the utilization of frames, and minimizes energy wastage.