In this paper, we present an experiment- and simulation-based study to evaluate the use of full duplex (FD) as a potential mode in practical IEEE 802.11 networks. To enable the study, we designed a 20-MHz multiantenna orthogonal frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM) FD physical layer and an FD media access control (MAC) protocol, which is backward compatible with current 802.11. Our extensive over-the-air experiments, simulations, and analysis demonstrate the following two results. First, the use of multiple antennas at the physical layer leads to a higher ergodic throughput than its hardware-equivalent multiantenna half-duplex (HD) counterparts for SNRs above the median SNR encountered in practical WiFi deployments. Second, the proposed MAC translates the physical layer rate gain into near doubling of throughput for multinode single-AP networks. The two results allow us to conclude that there are potentially significant benefits gained from including an FD mode in future WiFi standards.

 

The Panasonic-sponsored award is granted by the IEEE Foundation and administrated by the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society. It acknowledges the best paper of the year published by the Society on the subject of Vehicular Technology Systems, and recognizes the valuable contribution of the work to the furtherance of the Society's interests in mobile communications, automotive, and land transportation electronics technology.