Estimating the value of co-operation approaches for multi-hop ad hoc networks

In multi-hop ad hoc networks, each node may be involved in forwarding data acting as a router. Unfortunately, in civilian scenarios with usually an open community, it is not obvious why nodes should forward foreign data and waste their battery power, CPU cycles, etc. Some work has already been done in proposing approaches to intensify participation in ad hoc networks. However, it is more or less a question of belief whether these approaches really benefit the community. This work gives a rational estimation of the effect of approaches that intensify participation in ad hoc networks. We present essential results assuming in particular low-dense networks that use on-demand routing protocols by applying some fundamental statistics to the problem.