Better QoS and less power in wireless ad hoc networks by distributed power control using power and SINR-based pricing functions

We study the problem of power control in the physical layer of wireless ad hoc networks with a view to increasing the network´s quality of service, reducing power consumption, and decreasing interference. We propose a new power control algorithm, and use game theory to analyze its performance, where each user´s quality of service is a function of its signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR). The utility function for each user is defined by its desired SINR minus a pricing to provide adequate incentive for each user to choose its power level in such a way to maximize the aggregate of all users´ utilities (total network utility) instead of selfishly maximizing its own SINR. Simulation results show improvement in the network´s performance at reduced power levels.