Measuring the impact of redirecting and offloading mobile data traffic

Service providers must effectively manage the growing demands in mobile data traffic and optimize their capital investments. They have various mechanisms at their disposal to: 1) redirect or offload the amount of data traffic in their networks, 2) manage the peak busy hour relative to the average daily traffic, and 3) increase the yield and the profitability per bit for their network, without compromising the quality of the subscriber's experience. This paper will explore three such mechanisms: Wi-Fi offloading, mobile smart loading (MSL), and small cells. We will examine various scenarios illustrating the impact of each mechanism on the average daily traffic profile and total traffic volume for a representative mobile network. Changes in both the core and the radio access network (RAN) are examined and quantified for each case, illustrating the overall benefits to the service provider.