Perspectives on the impact of fading on protocols for wireless networks

Abstract

In this survey paper, we examine issues that arise at progressively higher layers of protocol stacks as a consequence of fading at the physical layer. One recurring theme that is uncovered is the sensitivity of the performance at essentially every level to the higher order statistics of the error process. This leads us to emphasize the need to understand, track and manage the higher order statistics of the error process that is passed up by the physical layer. This representative survey is by no means comprehensive.