Optimizing uplink TCP-ACK transmission in WiMAZ OFDMA systems

In WiMAX networks, a bandwidth request-grant process is required for uplink operation. However, the process is not optimized for TCP, since the uplink ACK stream is disrupted due to the following: (a) The process consists of several stages which in turn introduce big transmission delay; and (b) it requires additional uplink bandwidth which is significant compared to the ACK packet size. In this paper, the authors propose a new ACK transmission scheme, where ACK packets are combined with a bandwidth request (BR) header. Through simulation, it is demonstrated that the proposed scheme reduces the overheads of TCP-ACK transmissions effectively.