Infostations and Resource Allocation Problems in Mobile Computing

Christopher Rose, Rutgers University

The infostations model of wireless communications posits manytime manywhere coverage as opposed to anytime anywhere coverage for mobile users. That is, islands of coverage are knit together into a mobile computing access system. This scenario of intermittent coverage presents an interesting suite of resource allocation optimization problems. At the radio level, one must decide when and where to transmit information. At the network level one must make sure information is stored, forwarded between infostations and delivered in a timely and efficient manner. Our latest interest is the convergence of the new FCC 5-GHz unlicenced bands and a "gas station" paradigm for infostation infrastructure development which would make the use of distributed control and coordination algorithms essential.