Designing of Communication Systems in Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) using Wi-Fi Offloading Technology

Smart grid denotes creating a two-way communication infrastructure connected to the electrical infrastructure. One of the most important steps of establishing smart grids in distribution level is the implementation of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). A variety of methods have been proposed to create a suitable platform for AMI, one of the most widely used of which is the use of data services of cellular networks. On the other hand, data volume in cellular networks has risen sharply and the need for data traffic management is highly felt. The Wi-Fi Offloading technique is one of the optimal methods for data traffic management in cellular networks. This study is assigned to the design of a data offloading platform for AMI. The proposed problem has been implemented and solved in the form of an optimization problem with a genetic algorithm. The simulation results indicate that data offloading has the ability for 100% management of AMI traffic. The results also show that increasing the coverage range of Wi-Fi antenna has a better performance than increasing the number of Wi-Fi access points.