Ad-Hoc WLAN Broadcatching

Abstract

We demonstrate broadcatching in ad-hoc WLAN with mobile devices. Broadcatching is a combination of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing. RSS allows the users to subscribe to content channels creating a push-type user experience. The BitTorrent distributes the content load of the server to the participating end user devices. For the service provider the demonstrated technology enables a web based distribution channel to deliver media to a large group of end users. The infrastructure costs for a service provider are low due to BitTorrent file sharing even when large media files are distributed with the system. As the processing and communication capabilities of a mobile device are limited compared to a fixed server, the efficiency in the distribution makes broadcatching ideal for mobile devices.