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Impact of Offloading on the Efficiency of Wireless Access Networks

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Abstract

Wireless access networks need to deliver a satisfactory level of Quality of Service (QoS) to their subscribers. The service quality can be measured through various metrics, for example the mean packet delay, average throughput, the jitter and bandwidth. Based on the type of network application, one or the other can be more important. Mobile data offloading has a crucial effect on the efficiency of wireless access networks. Offloading decreases the load on mobile networks (LTE) which frees the band to other users and consequently improves the QoS level. Also data offloading reduces the cost of the downloaded information. In this paper we assess the impact of data offloading on the efficiency of wireless access networks. We employ two popular scheduler algorithms to measure the effect of resource allocation among users. In particular, an analytical model for mixed LTE and WiFi access networks is developed. The model takes into account the role and the effect of various application demands. The model evaluates the wireless access networks behavior when some portions of network service zones are tenanted by different application types. Using the real network simulation NS3, the network performance metrics (the average throughput, delay and packet loss) are investigated to evaluate the network performance under diverse traffic loads.

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  1. Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt

    Adel Agamy & Ahmed M. Mohamed

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  1. Adel Agamy
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Agamy, A., Mohamed, A.M. Impact of Offloading on the Efficiency of Wireless Access Networks. Int J Wireless Inf Networks 28, 134–146 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10776-020-00498-0

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