Autocorrelation and Coherence Time of Interference in Poisson Networks

This article takes an analytical approach to investigate the temporal dynamics of interference in wireless networks. We propose a framework to calculate the autocorrelation of interference in Poisson networks and derive closed-form expressions for the case of Nakagami fading. The framework takes three correlation sources into account: the location of interferers, the wireless channel, and the data traffic. We introduce the interference coherence time—in analogy to the well-established channel coherence time—and show how its basic qualitative behavior depends on the source of correlation. The insights gained can be useful in the design of medium access control and retransmission protocols.