Memon, ShuaibHossain, AkbarSarkar, Nurul I2025-03-042025-03-042025-03-03Future Internet, ISSN: 1999-5903 (Print); 1999-5903 (Online), MDPI AG, 17(111), 1-18. doi: 10.3390/fi170301111999-59031999-5903http://hdl.handle.net/10292/18810This paper proposes a frame aggregation with a simple block acknowledgement (FASBA) mechanism to provide a strict QoS guarantee to life-saving emergency traffic in wireless local area networks. This work builds on our previous work on a multipreemptive enhanced distributed channel access protocol called MP-EDCA. The main difference between FASBA and MP-EDCA is that MP-EDCA does not provide a strict QoS guarantee to life-saving emergency traffic (e.g., ambulance calls), especially in highload conditions. Our proposed FASBA protocol solves the problems of achieving a strict QoS guarantee to life-saving emergency traffic. The strict QoS guarantee is achieved by aggregating multiple frames with a two-bit block acknowledgement for transmissions. FASBA assures guaranteed network services by reducing MAC overheads; consequently, it offers higher throughput, lower packet delays, and accommodates a larger number of life-saving emergency nodes during emergencies. The performance of the proposed FASBA is validated by Riverbed Modeler and MATLAB 2024a-based simulation. Results obtained show that the proposed FASBA offers about 30% lower delays, 17% higher throughput, and 60% lower retransmission attempts than MP-EDCA under high-traffic loads.© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/46 Information and computing sciencesJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.3390/fi17030111