Achievable rates for multiple-level relay networks with supplementary non-broadcast links

Inspired by recent pessimistic results on the throughput of large purely (broadcast) wireless networks, we develop new achievable rates for a novel kind of heterogeneous communication network composed not only of broadcast wireless nodes, but also of nodes that can transmit simultaneously over broadcast wireless and other non-broadcast point-point modes of communication, e.g., wires, infrared, acoustic or near-field magnetic induction links. More specifically, we extend Xie's coding scheme for a single-source wireless network network to scenarios where an arbitrary number of additional non-broadcast communication modes are available. Thus, the new achievable rates are a generalization of Xie's previous results for discrete memoryless multiple-level relay channels.