Peer-to-Peer Solutions for Cellular Networks

The participation of stationary computers with high-bandwidth links in peer-to-peer content-distribution networks is highly popular. Mobile devices (e.g. cell phones), however, could not yet be launched into the field to a satisfactory extent. This paper discusses mobile peer-to-peer approaches that cover this issue and compares two promising approaches in detail. The first approach supports mobile devices by adding new infrastructure elements to the mobile network operator's domain. In the second approach, voluntary peers provide support for mobile devices. Both approaches are able to foster the integration of mobile devices into peer-to-peer networks with a large user community.