With the extreme success of mobile broadband and takeup of smartphones, tablets and other data devices, there is increasing demand for data traffic to be carried on mobile networks today, leading to high congestion on the macro cellular networks. Traffic offloading plays an important role in distributing the pressure from the macro-cellular core networks leading to increased capacity and better user experience.

I provided a comprehensive overview on various traffic offloading solutions: Femtocells, which provides the benefits of scalability, automatic configuration and self-optimization. WiFi, widely available in homes and hotspots. Integrating femto and WiFi together to reap the benefits of both femtocell and WiFi technology. I investigated the traffic flow management and architectural aspects of these solutions. Further, I discussed the challenges and issues faced with the deployment of each of these traffic offloading solutions. For details, please check my report.