Multiple access control protocols for wireless ATM: problems definition and design objectives

The concept of wireless ATM is now being actively considered as a potential framework for next-generation wireless communication networks capable of supporting integrated multimedia services with different QoS requirements. Several key subsystem design issues for wired ATM and wireless networks need to be readdressed in the scope of the wireless ATM. One of the main key subsystem issues is the development of the appropriate medium access control (MAC) protocol, which has the capability to extend the statistical multiplexing of the wired ATM network into the wireless medium. In this article the authors address the problem of a suitable MAC protocol for the specification of a wireless ATM network and outline the design objectives. In addition, the authors address some other challenging key issues that the wireless medium and wireless network architecture impose on the ATM stack protocol.