The Capacity of Wireless Networks yz

When n identical randomly located nodes, each capable of transmitting at W bits/sec and using a xed range, form a wireless network, the throughput (n) obtainable by each node for a randomly chosen destination is ( W p n log n ) bits/sec under a non-interference protocol. If the nodes are optimally placed in a disk of unit area, traÆc patterns are optimally assigned, and each transmission's range is optimally chosen, the bit-distance product that can be transported by the network per second is (W p An) bit-meters/sec. Thus, even under optimal circumstances, the throughput is only W p n bits/sec for each node for a destination non-vanishingly far away. Similar results also hold under an alternate physical model where a required signalto-interference ratio is speci ed for successful receptions. This material is based upon work partially supported by the Air Force OÆce of Scienti c Research under Contract No. AF-DC-5-36128, by EPRI and the U.S. Army Research OÆce under Subcontract to Cornell University Contract Nos. WO8333-04 and 35352-6086, by the U.S. Army Research OÆce under Contract No. DAAH 04-95-1-0090, the OÆce of Naval Research under Contract No. N00014-99-1-0696, and the Joint Services Electronics Program under Contract No. N00014-96-1-0129. Any opinions, ndings, and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily re ect the views of the above agencies. Please address all correspondence to the second author. Some of these results were presented at the IMA Workshop on Applied Probability at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, May 31{June 11, 1999, and at the 38th IEEE CDC, Dec 7{10, 1999. University of Illinois, Coordinated Science Laboratory, 1308 West Main Street, Urbana, IL 61801. Email fpiyush,[email protected]. Web http://black.csl.uiuc.edu/ prkumar