Utility-Optimal Random Access: Optimal Performance Without Frequent Explicit Message Passing

This paper proposes a distributed random Medium Access Control (MAC) algorithm for wireless ad hoc networks based on the framework of Network Utility Maximization (NUM). Compared with the related algorithms proposed in the literature, the algorithm achieves the optimal network performance without frequent explicit message passing among wireless users. This is of critical importance in practice, since any explicit message passing among wireless users will lead to further contentions in the network and reduce the network performance. The authors prove the convergence of the proposed algorithm under the assumption that the users estimate the required information through local observation of the shared wireless medium with asymptotically converging estimation errors.