Effect of packetization interval on number of connections in AAC audio streaming over WLAN 802.11g

Audio streaming over wireless local area network (WLAN) has an ability to transmit audio data ranging from short messages to music station. A popular application of this is in setting up a community radio, which is in demand, especially in developing countries where frequency spectrum management is still problematic. Audio streaming has to assure high quality of content reception without any packet loss, if possible. One such suitable coder-decoder (CODEC) is the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). Packetization interval for audio streaming is usually set at a default value of 20 ms. This work develops an AAC Audio Streaming over WLAN 802.11g. It studies the effect of different packetization intervals has on the maximum number of possible connections (i.e. receivers) without any packet loss. The simulated environment comprises of 1 access point with 300 m
²
. Connecting media server to access point via wireless link is adopted for its mobility and ease of deployment in rural area. The range of packetization intervals under this study is from 20 ms. to 200 ms. The study reveals that the commonly use default value of 20 ms. can manage up to 13 connections. Under the scenario of this study, it was found that the best packetization interval is 70 ms. with the maximum of 33 connections. The study also reveals that packet delay is not an issue in this approach as all are under the acceptable standard of 400 ms.