Selling multimedia resources in ad hoc networks

The success of platforms like iTunes has changed the distribution of multimedia resources. Multimedia resources can now be bought on the Internet and downloaded onto mobile devices. This coincides with the success of multimedia players and with the convergence between multimedia players and mobile devices. With ad hoc networks, mobile devices can extend the possibilities of legal distribution platforms by distributing multimedia resources even when no fixed network is available. This extension creates the need for solutions to perform authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) in ad hoc networks. In this article, we define a scenario and a solution for non-repudiation in ad hoc networks that enables accounting and charging for multimedia resources sold in ad hoc networks. A process was specified that guarantees non-repudiation for the selling/buying of multimedia resources and specifies how the collected accounting data are exchanged using existing AAA architectures.