IEEE 802.11 MAC-Level FEC scheme with retransmission combining

In this paper, we evaluate and enhance the performance of a Forward Error Correction (FEC) scheme for IEEE 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC). A novel retransmission combining technique is proposed to enhance the performance of the MAC-level FEC scheme.,We also identify the problem with the IEEE 802.11a physical (PHY) layer when it is used with the MAC-level FEC. A new PHY frame format, backward compatible with the original format, is proposed to resolve the problem. Finally, we analytically evaluate the error performance of the MAC-level FEC, and its enhanced performance via retransmission combining and new 802.11a PHY frame format in AWGN environment. Additionally, we present and discuss the results from simulations using TCP/UDP traffic in more realistic channel environments.