Multi-Channel Cooperative Broadcast for Narrowband Tactical Networks

Effective command and control on the battlefield requires robust communications. Using multi-hop communications based on synchronized cooperative broadcast (SCB) has previously been proposed as a means to increase range, robustness and efficiency for tactical ad hoc networks. In this paper, multi-channel extensions of SCB are proposed for increasing the network throughput of a narrowband frequency hopping waveform. The proposed algorithms make use of side bands of the primary channel and the effects of out-of-band interference on the proposed algorithms are analyzed. The evaluation shows how the use of neighboring channels can improve the efficiency of a narrowband data waveform. It is shown that the algorithms using two channels can work despite severe levels of out-of-band interference. Algorithms using three channels, which has twice the throughput of the most robust single channel configuration, is more sensitive to out-of-band interference and requires larger frequency separation between the channels.