The effect of packetization on voice capacity in IEEE 802.11b networks

This paper reports on simulation studies of voice services in a wireless local area network (WLAN). We focus on the widespread IEEE 802.11b standard and present both analytical models and simulation results. Using quantifiable metrics based on packet losses and delays, we advance a definition of access point (AP) capacity as the maximum number of simultaneous voice calls that an AP can support with a desired level of service quality. We examine the role of codec packetization on WLAN channel efficiency, and through simulation show its significant impact on voice capacity. We further report on the dynamics of the collision probability, packet drop rate and medium activity time as more active voice users enter the system.