Deploying information centric networking in LTE mobile networks

Mobile networks using 2G, 3G, or Long Term Evolution (LTE) are complex, and managing mobility and seamless handover are the key characteristics which result in protocol heavy and very complex architecture. For delivery of multimedia contents to user devices, IP unicast streams are used from server to clients where each user gets separate stream. From bandwidth and routing perspective it is highly inefficient. Multicast and broadcast technologies have emerged recently but their deployments are very limited or experimental due to complex architecture and radio spectrum issues. Information Centric Networking (ICN) is a rapidly evolving technology for efficient multimedia contents delivery to end devices however majority of the research is focused on fixed network. This paper focuses using ICN in mobile networks for efficient content delivery to mobile devices. This paper discusses about different strategies and options for deploying ICN. This paper also discusses about ICN characteristics for mobile networks including protocols and technology gaps.