  Wireless sensor networks faces unbalanced energy consumption problem over
time. Clustering provides an energy efficient method to improve lifespan of the
sensor network. Cluster head collects data from other nodes and transmits it
towards the sink node. Cluster heads which are far-off from the sink, consumes
more power in transmission of information towards the sink. We propose Region
Based Energy Balanced Inter-cluster communication protocol (RBEBP) to improve
lifespan of the sensor network. Monitored area has been divided into regions;
cluster heads are selected from specific region based on the residual energy of
nodes in that region. If energy of nodes of the specific region is low, nodes
from another region are selected as cluster heads. Optimized selection of
cluster heads helps in improving lifespan of the sensor network. In our scheme,
cluster heads which are far-off from the sink use another cluster heads as the
relay nodes to transmit their data to the sink node. So energy of cluster heads
deplete in a uniform way and complete area remain covered by sensor nodes.
Simulation results demonstrate that RBEBP can effectively reduce total energy
depletion and considerably extend lifespan of the network as compared to LEACH
protocol. RBEBP also minimize the problem of energy holes in monitored area and
improve the throughput of the network
