Design and analysis of an MAC-layer protocol for a car-to-infrastructure packet radio network

The structure of a packet radio network that must operate in an environment characterized by the presence of mobile stations and a ground network with fixed access points is defined. Each of these points consists of a ground station with a certain coverage area, which must exchange data with the mobiles over a common radio channel. Mobiles within the coverage area of a ground station must coordinate their access to the common channel. The design and analysis of the multiaccess protocol is considered, together with the procedure for the passage from a ground station coverage area to the next one along the direction of flow. The overall access strategy is described and analyzed to some extent, and simulation results are provided. The integration of this medium access control (MAC) layer protocol with existing packet radio software that also covers higher layer features is also discussed