Research Article
Understanding Data Hotspots in Cellular Networks
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.4108/icst.qshine.2014.256291, author={Ana Nika and Asad Ismail and Ben Zhao and Sabrina Gaito and Gian Rossi and Haitao Zheng}, title={Understanding Data Hotspots in Cellular Networks}, proceedings={10th International Conference on Heterogeneous Networking for Quality, Reliability, Security and Robustness}, publisher={IEEE}, proceedings_a={QSHINE}, year={2014}, month={9}, keywords={cellular networks data analysis qos data hotspots}, doi={10.4108/icst.qshine.2014.256291} }- Ana Nika
Asad Ismail
Ben Zhao
Sabrina Gaito
Gian Rossi
Haitao Zheng
Year: 2014
Understanding Data Hotspots in Cellular Networks
QSHINE
IEEE
DOI: 10.4108/icst.qshine.2014.256291
Abstract
The unprecedented growth in mobile data usage is posing significant challenges to cellular operators. One key challenge is how to provide quality of service to subscribers when their residing cell is experiencing a significant amount of traffic, i.e. becoming a traffic hotspot. In this paper, we perform an empirical study on data hotspots in today's cellular networks using a 9-week cellular dataset with 734K+ users and 5327 cell sites. Our analysis examines in details static and dynamic characteristics, predictability, and causes of data hotspots, and their correlation with call hotspots. We believe the understanding of these key issues will lead to more efficient and responsive resource management and thus better QoS provision in cellular networks. To the best of our knowledge, our work is the first to characterize in detail traffic hotspots in today's cellular networks using real data.