Channel Allocation Algorithm Alleviating the Hidden Channel Problem in 802.11ac Networks

Seowoo Jang, Saewoong Bahk

Abstract: The goal of IEEE 802.11ac is to provide very high throughput~(VHT) performance while at the same time guaranteeing backward compatibility. For the goal, 802.11ac adopts the channel bonding technique that makes use of multiple 20MHz channels in 5GHz band. Due to the heterogeneity of bandwidth that each device exploits, and the fixed total transmission power, a problem called `Hidden Channel' arises. In this paper, we propose a heuristic channel allocation algorithm that aims to avoid such problematic situations. Through simulations, we demonstrate that our proposed channel allocation algorithm lowers the packet error rate~(PER) compared to uncoordinated and RSSI~(Received Signal Strength Indicator) based allocation schemes and increases the throughput of a station that experiences poor performance.