Timing-synchronization analysis for IEEE 802.11a wireless LANs in frequency-nonselective Rician fading environments

This paper derives and computes the probability of synchronization failure P_fail for IEEE 802.11a wireless LANs on frequency-flat Rician fading channels. For a frequency offset within ±232 kHz, it is shown that its effect on the synchronization performance is minor. The E_ds/N₀ ratios required to achieve P_fail=10^-3 and 10^-4 are computed, where E_ds is the data-symbol energy. We find that E_ds/N₀ ratios over 20 dB are generally required for channels with Rician factors K≤6 dB. In particular, E_ds/N₀ ratios that yield P_fail=10^-4 exceed 30 dB for K≤4 dB.