A Constant-Approximation for Maximum Weight Independent Set of Links under the SINR Model

In this paper we study the following optimization problem in a plane multihop wireless network under the physical interference model. Given a multihop wireless network and a positive link weight (or demand) function, select a set of independent links whose total weight is maximized. This problem is known to be NP-hard. The best known approximation algorithm for this problem achieves logarithmic factor approximation with power control. In this work, we present a constant-approximation algorithm for the problem with the power assignment specified in this paper when the link weight-to-length ratio is bounded. Moreover, our constant-approximation bound is valid regardless of the value of the noise power and the lengths of the communication links.