Multiple Tone Medium Access Control for Wireless Networks with Multiple Packet Reception and Central Control

This paper introduces a new approach to the multiple access control problem in centralized networks where the central node possesses the so called multiple packet reception capability. The proposed access control protocol called multiple-tone medium-access (MTMA), is based on two disjoint sets of multiple out of band tones. Each tone of the first set has its corresponding pair on the other set. The terminals use a randomly chosen tone from one of the sets to request reservation for transmission of a packet on the following time slot. The paired tones on the other set are employed by the central node to grant the permission for transmission. The throughput of the network is evaluated by simulations. Due to its relative simplicity and good performance, the proposed protocol represents a practical way of exploiting the multiple packet reception capability of the central node.