Economic feasibility of multipath protocols in mobile Internet of Things applications

Internet of Things envisions some services that require both end-device mobility and high availability or high bandwidth. However, the current environment with a cellular network and single-path protocols may not guarantee a sufficient service level. Thus, this study evaluates the economic feasibility of using multipath protocols for increased availability and bandwidth when contracting with several cellular operators. By using cost-efficiency analysis, a model is developed for comparing multipath protocols with their single-path alternatives. The usage of the model is demonstrated with two potential mobile application scenarios that could benefit either from increased availability or bandwidth. Finland is used as an example market. The benefits of multipath protocols were quantified with an extensive set of handset-based measurements from Finnish cellular networks. The results of this study indicate that the initial costs of a multipath infrastructure remain relatively small, and the total costs rapidly approach the operational costs as the number or active time of smart devices increase. Therefore, this study indicates that multipath protocols are economically feasible for certain mobile Internet of Things applications, particularly those requiring high bandwidth. Thus, new service models emerging in the Internet could create a real demand for multipath protocols in the future. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.