Wireless P2p: Problem Or Opportunity?

P2P is currently considered a problem by many wired and wireless providers, especially because of the large amount of traffic it generates. However, given new technology developments such as Wi-Fi Direct, we see an opportunity for P2P in mobile settings that, rather than treating mobiles as second-class citizens, seeks to take advantage of their capabilities over stationary devices. In this paper, we outline a new approach for fully decentralized mobile P2P that allows mobiles to run a variety of services and at the same time alleviates data overload in mobile networks. We consider mobiles integral and a richer class of nodes, and assume that they are capable of forming P2P networks without necessarily relying on the aid of stationary hosts or servers. We present a new architecture based on JXTA middleware, which is meant to not only optimize mobile resources, but also aims to take full advantage of the features that mobiles offer, such as mobility, ubiquity, location-awareness and sensors.