Feasibility of video streaming offloading via connection sharing from LTE to WiFi ad hoc networks

Cellular networks are currently facing severe traffic overload, and different approaches to alleviate this problem are currently being studied. An attractive solution that does not demand major modifications to deployed infrastructure is to offload part of the cellular traffic to complementary networks. Based on that, this paper investigates the feasibility of low bit-rate H.264 video streaming offloading through opportunistic connection sharing from an LTE network to an WiFi ad hoc network. The deployment of an ad hoc network formed by end-user devices is considered as a means to provide range extension in addition to data offloading. To evaluate video streaming performance, the Structural Similarity (SSIM) index is used to express video quality as perceived by end users. The proposed architecture for video streaming offloading is evaluated through discrete-event simulations according to different mobility patterns, varying small-scale multipath fading, and two ad hoc routing protocols (AODV and OLSR). Particular interest is given to the seamless integration of the relay node in the heterogeneous scenario (multiple radio access technologies (RAT)), and the impact of the number of offloaded flows through the relay on a given video streaming session.