MAC layer broadcast support in 802.11 wireless networks

In this paper we introduce a simple extension to IEEE 802.11 that supports broadcasting in ad hoc networks. Ad hoc random access MAC protocols often treat unicast and broadcast packets differently. Unicast packets are preceded with MAC layer control frames, such as RTS, CTS and ACK, to ensure that the destination receives the unicast packets. Broadcast packets, on the other hand, are sent blindly without any control frames to assure the availability of the destinations. Therefore, the performance of the network degrades as contention increases. Our proposed extension to the broadcast mechanism of 802.11 helps alleviate such degradation when contention exists.