File distribution in wireless broadcast network: A unified performance comparison

In this paper, we study a class of wireless broadcast networks where the source intends to send a common file to a group of closely-located receivers. In such networks, reliable file distribution can be achieved either via source retransmissions or user cooperations based on peer-to-peer communications. Various existing schemes are reviewed and compared in terms of feedback load, implementation complexity, coding overhead and transmission efficiency. Extensive computer simulations are performed to compare their efficiency under different channel conditions.