Header reduction to increase the throughput in decentralized TDMA-based vehicular networks

In the decentralized-TDMA (D-TDMA) protocol the terminals select a free slot based on the frame information (FI) included in each packet to be transmitted. However, the FI constitutes a large portion of the packet which seriously compromised the throughput of the D-TDMA. We are proposing a technique for increasing the throughput by reducing the length of the FI without jeopardizing the packet success rate. Our technique, which is based on FI redundancies, lets the terminals transmit the relevant information when necessary. A computer simulation was conducted for an urban environment in which vehicles are moving. The simulation results show that the proposed technique significantly increases the throughput without degrading the quality of the D-TDMA protocol.