Supervision : Marcelo DIAS DE AMORIM

Co-supervision : CONAN Vania

Device-to-Device Data Offloading: From Model to Implementation

Mobile data traffic is expected to reach 24.3 exabytes by 2019. Accommodating this growth in a traditional way would require major investments in the radio access network. In this thesis, we turn our attention to an unconventional solution: mobile data offloading through device-to-device (D2D) communications.
Our first contribution is DROiD, an offloading strategy that exploits the availability of the cellular infrastructure as a feedback channel. DROiD adapts the injection strategy to the pace of the dissemination, resulting at the same time reactive and relatively simple, allowing to save a relevant amount of data traffic even in the case of tight delivery delay constraints.
Then, we shift the focus to the gains that D2D communications could bring if coupled with multicast wireless networks. We demonstrate that by employing a wise balance of multicast and D2D communications we can improve both the spectral efficiency and the load in cellular networks. In order to let the network adapt to current conditions, we devise a learning strategy based on the multi-armed bandit algorithm to identify the best mix of multicast and D2D communications.
Finally, we investigate the cost models for operators wanting to reward users who cooperate in D2D offloading. We propose separating the notion of seeders (users that carry content but do not distribute it) and forwarders (users that are tasked to distribute content). With the aid of the analytic framework based on Pontryagin's Maximum Principle, we develop an optimal offloading strategy. Results provide us with an insight on the interactions between seeders, forwarders, and the evolution of data dissemination.

2014-2016 Publications

• 2016
  • F. Rebecchi, M. Dias De Amorim, V. Conan : “Circumventing plateaux in cellular data offloading using adaptive content reinjection”, Computer Networks, vol. 106, pp. 49-63, (Elsevier) (2016)
  • F. Rebecchi, M. Dias De Amorim, V. Conan : “Should I seed or should I not: On the remuneration of seeders in D2D offloading”, 17^th IEEE International Symposium on a World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks (WoWMoM), Coimbra, Portugal (2016)
  • F. Rebecchi, L. Valerio, R. Bruno, V. Conan, M. Dias De Amorim, A. Passarella : “Stratégie d’apprentissage pour le multicast LTE avec communications D2D”, CoRes 2016, Bayonne, France (2016)
• 2015
  • F. Rebecchi : “Délestage de données en D2D : de la modélisation à la mise en oeuvre”, thesis, phd defence 09/18/2015, supervision Dias de amorim, Marcelo, co-supervision : Conan, Vania (2015)
  • F. Rebecchi, L. Valerio, R. Bruno, V. Conan, M. Dias De Amorim, A. Passarella : “A joint multicast/D2D learning-based approach to LTE traffic offloading”, Computer Communications, vol. 72, pp. 26-37, (Elsevier) (2015)
  • F. Rebecchi, M. Dias De Amorim, V. Conan : “The Cost of Being Altruistic: Optimal D2D Offloading under Rewarding Conditions”, ALGOTEL 2015 — 17^es Rencontres Francophones sur les Aspects Algorithmiques des Télécommunications, Beaune, France (2015)
  • F. Rebecchi, M. Dias De Amorim, V. Conan, A. Passarella, R. Bruno, M. Conti : “Data Offloading Techniques in Cellular Networks: A Survey”, Communications Surveys and Tutorials, IEEE Communications Society, vol. 17 (2), pp. 580-603, (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) (2015)
• 2014
  • F. Rebecchi, M. Dias De Amorim, V. Conan : “Flooding Data in a Cell: Is Cellular Multicast Better than Device-to-Device Communications?”, Ninth ACM MobiCom Workshop on Challenged Networks (CHANTS '14), Maui, HI, United States, pp. 19-24, (ACM) (2014)
  • F. Rebecchi, M. Dias De Amorim, V. Conan : “DROiD: Adapting to Individual Mobility Pays Off in Mobile Data Offloading”, IFIP Networking 2014, Trondheim, Norway, pp. 1-6 (2014)
  • F. Rebecchi, M. Dias De Amorim, V. Conan : “Adaptive Mobile Traffic Offloading”, ALGOTEL 2014 -- 16^es Rencontres Francophones sur les Aspects Algorithmiques des Télécommunications, Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré, France, pp. 1-4 (2014)