Abstract— In this paper, we discuss an approach to increase wireless bandwidth utilization based on cooperative network architecture, referred to as Cellular Controlled Peer-to-Peer (CCP2P) communication. This approach goes beyond the concepts used in composite networks, focused mainly on coverage extension and data relaying. In CCP2P networks, besides being connected to an ”outside world” using cellular links, a group of terminals in close proximity form a cooperative cluster. Using peer-to-peer connections CCP2P has the potential to overcome many important limitations of the cellular networks and offer higher data rates and better Quality of Service. Four practically relevant scenarios of CCP2P applications are presented as illustrative examples and discussed in detail. This paper shows that performance gain can be achieved only by cooperative behavior of termi-nals in the cluster. The importance of rules of cooperation for CCP2P communication is underlined and a discussion on their realization in cooperative networks is provided.

Index Terms— cooperation, network architecture, bandwidth utilization, efficiency

Cite:Tatiana K. Madsen , Qi Zhang , Frank Fitzek , and Marcos Katz, "Exploiting Cooperation for Performance Enhancement and High Data Rates," Journal of Communications, vol. 4, no.3, pp.193-202, 2009.