Offloading application traffic to a shared communication channel for signal optimization in a wireless network for traffic utilizing proprietary and non-proprietary protocols
A method of reducing network traffic includes blocking, at a mobile device, a first channel to reduce network signaling in a network and to reduce battery consumption. The first channel includes a non-common channel. The method includes offloading application traffic of an application onto a second channel. The second channel may include a common channel. The method may include monitoring the application traffic of the application over the second channel, unblocking the first channel based on the monitored application traffic so that the application can perform an action, and re-blocking the first channel after the action has been completed. The method may include unblocking the first channel when user activity is detected, wherein the user activity includes whether the mobile device is being interacted with.
1. A method of reducing network traffic comprising:
detecting user inactivity on a mobile device with respect to accessing one of a first and a second application executing on the mobile device,
wherein the first application is configured to communicate with an application server over a first channel associated with the first application,
wherein the first application is further configured to communicate over a second channel established with a messaging server, wherein the messaging server receives data from the application server of the first application and transmits the data to the mobile device in response thereto,
wherein the second application is configured to receive communications over the second channel; and
in response to detected user inactivity:
blocking the first channel,
wherein blocking the first channel is performed when the first application is executing in the background on the mobile device,
wherein blocking the first channel includes blocking the first application from accessing the application server over the first channel;
monitoring communications over the second channel for the first and second applications; and
unblocking the first channel based on the monitored communications to allow the first application to communicate over the first channel with the application server associated with the first application.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first channel is a first push channel and the second channel is a second push channel.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first channel that is blocked is a TCP connection.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first channel that is un-blocked is a subsequent TCP connection.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user inactivity is based on a screen status of the mobile device.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein blocking is performed by one of: dropping IP packets, rejecting IP packets, and blocking an application layer.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein blocking the first channel includes stopping execution of the first application.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein blocking the first channel includes not stopping execution of the first application.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first application is allowed to access local data on the mobile device.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second channel is a push channel.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first channel is for communicating at least one of:
application traffic, traffic associated with a specific application, and application-layer traffic.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting user activity on the mobile device based on whether the mobile device is being interacted with by a user; and
in response to detected user activity, unblocking the first channel.
13. A mobile device comprising:
a memory; and
a processor configured for:
detecting user inactivity on a mobile device with respect to accessing one of a first and a second application executing on the mobile device,
wherein the first application is configured to communicate with an application server over a first channel associated with the first application,
wherein the first application is further configured to communicate over a second channel established with a messaging server, wherein the messaging server receives data from the application server of the first application and transmits the data to the mobile device in response thereto,
wherein the second application is configured to receive communications over the second channel; and
in response to detected user inactivity:
blocking the first channel,
wherein blocking the first channel is performed when the first application is executing in the background on the mobile device,
wherein blocking the first channel includes blocking the first application from accessing the application server over the first channel;
monitoring communications over the second channel for the first and second applications; and
unblocking the first channel based on the monitored communications to allow the first application to communicate over the first channel with the application server associated with the first application.
14. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein the first channel is a first push channel and the second channel is a second push channel.
15. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein the first channel that is blocked is a TCP connection.
16. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein the first channel that is un-blocked is a subsequent TCP connection.
17. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein the inactivity is based on a screen status of the mobile device.
18. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein blocking is performed by one of: dropping IP packets, rejecting IP packets, and blocking an application layer.
19. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein detected inactivity includes detected user inactivity at the mobile device with respect to accessing one of the first and second applications.
20. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein execution of one of the first application and the second application is stopped.
21. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein execution of the first application and the second application are not stopped.
22. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein the first application is allowed to access local data on the mobile device.
23. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein the second channel is a push channel.
24. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein the first channel is for communicating at least one of: application traffic, traffic associated with a specific application, and application-layer traffic.
25. The mobile device of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured for:
detecting user activity on the mobile device based on whether the mobile device is being interacted with by a user; and
in response to detected user activity, unblocking the first channel.