With the computing power of mobile devices and wireless sensors exceeding previous generation large computers, the demand of wireless networking applications is increasing at a dramatic pace. Developments of advanced wireless networks, however, still suffer from the lack of a theoretical foundation that addresses both concerns of “efficiency” and “modularity”.

This monograph reviews a new research avenue that begins to address the research problem. Focusing on the physical and data link layers, it proposes an interface enhancement that overcomes an efficiency bottleneck in the wireless part of the network. Distributed Coding in A Multiple Access Environment provides a state-of-the-art review of the topic and puts a framework for the efficiency of distributed networking systems when communication optimization cannot be done fully at the physical layer.