A systematic study on the impact of noise and OFDM interference on IEEE 802.11p

To design, test, and evaluate applications for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs), researchers rely heavily on network simulations. These allow conducting experiments in a fast, cheap, and reproducible manner. In general, the accuracy of simulation results depends to a large degree on the quality of the simulation models. Here, the model of the physical layer is particularly crucial for the realism of the results. Given its relevance, it is unfortunate that there is a dispute within the community on how interference should be modeled. To fill this gap, we conduct a systematic study of the IEEE 802.11p physical layer in which we cross-validate results from simulations, off-the-shelf devices, and lab equipment. The results of these experiments are all coherent and indicate that intra-technology interference, i.e., interference from other IEEE 802.11p devices, has a similar impact than noise. Treating interference like noise is, therefore, not just a simplification that is adopted by many network simulators, but accurately captures reality.