On the Performance Bounds of OFDM-Based 802.16 Broadband Wireless Networks

In this paper, we evaluate the performance bounds of 802.16 technology under different physical and MAC parameters settings. The saturation throughput that can be reached in 802.16 networks is investigated through several scenarios in which we vary for instance the frame duration, the channel bandwidth, and the modulation and coding scheme in use. An original analytical framework was developed based on technical properties and system profiles specified by the IEEE 802.16 standard for systems using the Wireless MAN-OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) air interface. The obtained results outline the importance of considering the MAC and physical overhead when evaluating the performance of 802.16 networks. They also highlight the impact of packing and fragmentation techniques, proposed by IEEE 802.16 standard, on the MAC performance and show the trade-off between decreasing the channel bandwidth and increasing the resulting saturation throughput.