Abstract
Directional communications have been considered as a feasible alternative to improve spatial division and throughput in mobile communication environments. In general, directional MAC protocols proposed in the literature rely on channel reservation based on control frames, such as RTS/CTS. Notwithstanding, channel reservation based on control frames increases latency and has an impact on the network throughput. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a channel reservation technique based on pulse/tone signals. The proposed scheme, termed directional pulse/tone channel reservation (DPTCR), allows for efficient channel reservation without resorting to control frames such as RTS and CTS. Theoretical and empirical results show that the proposed scheme has a low probability of failure while providing significant throughput gains. The results show that DPTCR is able to provide throughput improvement up to 158% higher as compared to traditional channel reservation employing RTS/CTS frames.