The performance of adaptive frequency allocation in an environment of non-cooperative interference

WLAN technology is likely to be a part of future wireless broadband communication systems. As the wireless unlicensed radio traffic increases, the need for good solutions to co-existence problems caused by interference becomes apparent. In this paper the performance of a hypothetical WLAN operating at 17 GHz, using decentralized dynamic channel allocation, is assessed in regard to its susceptibility to external interference. Three different interference cases are studied. The first case is narrowband static interference. The second case is wideband interference, similar to the interference caused by a spread spectrum system. The third case is agile interference caused by a frequency hopping system. In all cases the WLAN and the interferers are located in the same geographical location. The results suggest that the chosen channel allocation algorithm, adaptive frequency allocation, provides excellent channel plans within seconds from start-up as long as the interference is static. It is however not, as it is defined here, able to perform well when the interfering devices use frequency hopping technology.