Network simulator: Importance of an accurate model of the physical layer

When analyzing and simulating communication systems, we often use average packet error rate p̅_e to modelize the effect of the physical (PHY) layer. With this average value, we analyze and simulate systems and obtain the average performance metrics such as delay, number of retransmissions, throughput or jitter. This approach is done with classical network simulator. Because of the computational cost, it was the only possible way to design network simulators. This model is simple, but it does not reflect exactly the variation of channel in time and/or in frequency. However, with the new generation of network simulator NS3, it is now possible to include a more accurate PHY layer. The goal of this paper is to analyse and prove the difference in terms of performance obtained with a simulator including a PHY layer.