QoS-Oriented MAC Protocols for Future Mobile Applications

Abstract

Common intended access to a physically unshareable resource requires arbitration. Since in wireless communications the transmission medium cannot be shared without loss of information, medium access control (MAC) plays the role of an arbiter stipulating, for each of the intended users, the conditions and parameters of exclusive access rights. The major challenge in designing a good MAC protocol is to provide each user with the negotiated quality-of-service (QoS) parameters while, at the same time, utilizing the network resources as efficiently as possible. Thus, an ideal MAC protocol must strike a balance between the conflicting goals of QoS provisioning, efficiency, simplicity, and service controllability. The MAC protocol improvements ensure a dominant effect on the development of the QoS and other future breakthrough wireless technologies.