Announced Arrival Random Access Protocols

In this paper we propose and evaluate several protocols for a random access channel. The channel is divided into a control subchannel which is used to inform all users of the approximate times of arrival of new packets and a data subchannel which is used to transmit the data. Packets arriving at different users at approximately the same time may cause a collision on the control subchannel. Such collisions are resolved on the data subchannel by a collision resolution algorithm. Eight protocols that differ in the feedback available on both channels and the time that the feedback is available are described and evaluated. The expected delay of each protocol is determined by modeling the system as a slotted concentrator. Comparisons are made among the protocols described and analyzed in this paper and between these protocols and other protocols that have been studied previously.