Protocol Design Beyond Graph-Based Models

In this paper we shed new light on the fundamental gap between graph-based models used by protocol designers and fading channel models used by communication theorists in wireless networks. We experimentally demonstrate that graph-based models capture real-world phenomena inadequately. Consequentially, we advocate studying models beyond graphs even for protocol-design. In the main part of the paper we present an archetypal multi-hop situation. We show that the theoretical limits of any protocol which obeys the laws of graph-based models can be broken by a protocol explicitly defined for the physical model. Finally, we discuss possible applications, from data gathering to media access control.