Profit-Based Routing for Multihop Coverage Extension in Wireless Networks

In future wireless systems, the coverage of a base station will decrease due to the characteristics of the channel at high-frequency bands. To expand the service coverage, a hybrid network that combines an ad hoc network with a cellular (or wireless LAN) network, appears to have great potential. In such systems, some mobile users outside the service area can access the network with the aid of other intermediate mobiles. However, this method incurs energy consumption in routing users, which could be a serious obstacle for wide-spread deployment of multihop wireless networks. Therefore we consider a revenue-cost model and propose a profit-based routing strategy that encourages routing users to actively participate in the relaying service because they are compensated for their energy consumption cost. Our strategy enables each mobile node to find an appropriate multihop path to a base station (or access point) that satisfies the interests of the service provider and the users. Numerical results show that our model successfully expands the network coverage area while ensuring the profit of each system involved.