On the feasibility of power control in current IEEE 802.11 devices

Abstract

Recent research in wireless communications has achieved important results by exploring more and more sophisticated solutions involving power control. Cross-layer design and topology control are the main examples. Although much has been done in the theoretical domain, there is still a large gap between theory and practice. In this paper, we investigate whether current IEEE 802.11 devices are able to comply with cross-layer and topology control requirements. Our study and associated measurement results reveal that many novel power control solutions cannot be efficiently implemented over existing IEEE 802.11 cards