Path selection for mobile stations in IEEE 802.16 multihop relay networks

Multimedia applications over wireless mobile networks become more popular with the increasing deployment of wireless infrastructures. IEEE 802.16 standard has become an emerging technology to support broadband access and quality of service (QoS) for real-time multimedia applications over wireless networks. This paper discusses the path selection problem in IEEE 802.16 mobile multihop relay (MMR) networks where relay stations are used to extend network coverage and enhance network capacity. For real-time applications that have explicit rate and delay requirements, choosing an appropriate path between any mobile station and the base station becomes essential. In this paper, we propose a path selection metric, named normalized number of minislots (NNM), which enables a mobile station to choose a path that satisfies its application rate and delay requirements. Simulation results show that NNM outperforms existing path selection metrics, especially when network has high traffic load.