Spatial reuse of the radio channel in CDMA-enabled, ad-hoc wireless sensor networks

To date, random access protocols like Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) have been the preferred means of sharing the radio channel in SpeckNets and other ad hoc wireless sensor networks. This paper considers Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) as an alternative multiple access method, and evaluates the introduction of exclusion zones around each node as a low cost means of managing the Near Far problem. It is shown that, if appropriately sized zones are established, improved spatial reuse of the radio channel is possible (i.e. more concurrent transmissions can take place in proximity), potentially leading to energy savings in the MAC protocol.