Efficient Media Access Protocols for Wireless LANs with Smart Antennas

Abstract

The use of smart antennas in extending coverage range and capacity of wireless networks dictates the employment of novel media access control protocols, with which the base station (BS) or access point (AP) provides access to users by learning their locations. We consider the class of protocols that employ beamforming and use contention-based or contention-free polling methods to locate users residing in or out of coverage range of the AP. Such protocols allow rapid media access and can be embedded in existing MAC protocols.