Protocols for roadside-to-roadside data relaying over vehicular networks

In this work, we examine the feasibility of vehicles acting as data relays between roadside base-stations. Vehicular networks (VANETs) can be exploited due to the constrained and predictable motion of the vehicles along the roadways. We consider the feasibility of data relaying as a cost-effective scheme to provide virtual data paths between roadside base-stations. We develop a suit of protocols to achieve this relaying operation. Our results indicate that throughput on the order of 4.5 Mbps (for a peak rate of 11 Mbps) is obtained with minimal overhead for various scenarios. In scenarios where as low as 5% of the vehicles are equipped, the throughput obtained is in the order of 2 Mbps