Irregular Repetition Slotted ALOHA in an Information-Theoretic Setting

TL;DR

This paper introduces an information-theoretic framework for analyzing irregular repetition slotted ALOHA (IRSA), linking codebook design with interference cancellation to derive fundamental performance limits.

Contribution

It presents a novel information-theoretic approach to IRSA, capturing fundamental quantities beyond collision models and establishing achievability and converse results.

Findings

Achieves new bounds on IRSA sum rate

Links codebook design with interference cancellation

Provides fundamental performance limits for IRSA

Abstract

An information-theoretic approach to irregular repetition slotted ALOHA (IRSA) is proposed. In contrast with previous works, in which IRSA analysis is conducted only based on quantities that are typical of collision models such as the traffic, the new approach also captures more fundamental quantities. Specifically, a suitable codebook construction for the adder channel model is adopted to establish a link with successive interference cancellation over the multi-packet reception channel. This perspective allows proving achievability and converse results for the average sum rate of IRSA multiple access schemes.