Throughput Scaling of Wireless Networks With Random Connections

Abstract: This work studies the throughput scaling laws of ad hoc wireless networks in the limit of a large number of nodes. A random connections model is assumed in which the channel connections between the nodes are drawn independently from a common distribution. Transmitting nodes are subject to an on-off strategy, and receiving nodes employ conventional single-user decoding. The following results are proven: 1) For a class of connection models with finite mean and variance, the throughput scaling is upper-bounded by $O(n^{1/3})$ for single-hop schemes, and $O(n^{1/2})$ for two-hop (and multihop) schemes. 2) The $\Theta (n^{1/2})$ throughput scaling is achievable for a specific connection model by a two-hop opportunistic relaying scheme, which employs full, but only local channel state information (CSI) at the receivers, and partial CSI at the transmitters. 3) By relaxing the constraints of finite mean and variance of the connection model, linear throughput scaling $\Theta (n)$ is achievable with Pareto-type fading models.