Cooperative content offloading through WiFi and mobile device-to-device networks

This paper investigates the use of WiFi and mobile device-to-device networks, with vehicular ad hoc networks being a typical example, as a complementary means to offload and reduce the traffic load of cellular networks. A novel cooperative content dissemination strategy is proposed for a heterogeneous network consisting of different types of devices with different levels of mobility, ranging from static WiFi access points to mobile devices such as vehicles. The proposed strategy offloads a significant proportion of data traffic from cellular networks to WiFi or device-to-device networks. Detailed analysis is provided for the content dissemination process in heterogeneous networks adopting the strategy. On that basis, the optimal parameter settings for the content dissemination strategy are discussed. Simulation and numerical studies show that the proposed strategy effectively reduces data traffic for cellular networks while guaranteeing successful content delivery.