Maximising the System Spectral Efficiency in a Decentralised 2-Link Wireless Network

This paper analyses the system spectral efficiency of a 2-link wireless network. The analysis reveals that there exist three operating points that possibly maximise the system spectral efficiency: either both links transmit with maximum power simultaneously or one single link transmits with maximum power while the other is silent. The impact of the chosen multiple access scheme on the system spectral efficiency is also studied: simultaneous transmission or sequential access where the two links share the medium by dedicated time/frequency slots without causing interference. An exhaustive numerical search over a wide range of channel realisations quantifies the gains in system spectral efficiency when choosing either the optimal, single, simultaneous, or sequential medium access. Furthermore, issues regarding the power efficiency are addressed. Finally, the restriction to a 2-link network is relaxed by introducing background interferers, reflecting a multiple link scenario with one dominant interferer. Simulation results indicate that increasing background interference reduces the advantage of sequential over simultaneous transmission.