Wi-Fi Getting Bigger Exposure in Small Cells

(Mar 7 2012) 4G , LTE , M2M , Wi-Fi

1. Equipment Vendors Investing to Capitalize on Benefits of 802.11

   Recent announcements by Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco and Ericsson all point to a renewed interest in the potential of Wi-Fi as a critical technology for 4G wireless networks.  Wi-Fi, once viewed as a solution only enterprises, hot spots or digital cities could embrace with any sort of passion, is quickly becoming a darling technology of not only operators but also “carrier-grade” infrastructure vendors. 

   Initially shunned by operators as unwieldy to manage, insecure and generally unreliable, Wi-Fi is emerging today as a clearly viable contender for 4G access.  Almost all smartphones and tablets currently being shipped support Wi-Fi access for high speed wireless broadband, as do most laptops and notebooks, as well as an increasing number of non-mobile devices such as televisions and M2M-enabled solutions.  Beyond its seemingly ubiquitous presence, Wi-Fi also brings with it the benefits of being standards-based and unlicensed.

   Until recently Wi-Fi had managed to edge its way into the carrier space as an adjunct product; hotspots.  Wi-Fi has also proven itself more recently as a technology choice for offload solutions.  But the latest advancement of Wi-Fi in the carrier space would seem to acknowledge it as another 4G access technology.  Infrastructure equipment vendors are now beginning to integrate Wi-Fi into their small cell and HetNet product and portfolio strategies.

   Ericsson, a major vendor of macrocell RAN solutions, has taken a significant step toward the potential of Wi-Fi by integrating the technology into their picocell products and also by acquiring BelAir Networks.  “Ericsson will lead the way in the growing converged Wi-Fi and cellular market where improved end-user experience is the driving force,” explained Hans Vestberg, CEO of Ericsson.  “By integrating BelAir Networks’ market-leading products and competence into Ericsson’s existing radio portfolio, we will be able to do this more quickly.”

   BelAir Networks, barely 10 years into its existence, has particularly established itself as a leader in outdoor Wi-Fi and mesh solutions, especially with cable-based MSOs but also with AT&T Wireless.  More recently BelAir entered the small cell market through the integration of 3G and LTE to their service provider Wi-Fi portfolio.  The Canadian company’s strategy has served them well and should prove to be an ideal complement to Ericsson’s Network Integrated Wi-Fi solution that was introduced last fall.  The key will be to see how well Ericsson retains the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of BelAir and integrates their GigXone portfolio of outdoor and indoor access points (AP) and multimode, multi-access small cells, backhaul and mounting options, as well as network controllers for carrier cloud and ad-hoc network deployment. GigXone features a highly scalable network management system with support for remote updating of AP software, business intelligence and monitoring features. 

   Wi-Fi would seem to be a natural addition to Alcatel-Lucent’s (ALU) lightRadio product line.  Wim Sweldens, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Wireless division explained, “Extending our groundbreaking lightRadio portfolio, service providers will be able to build closer relationships with their customers by delivering seamless high-speed broadband connections, wherever they are, using LTE and Wi-Fi networks.

   As part of the evolution to include Wi-Fi, ALU has added Secure Wi-Fi gateway functionality to its 7750 Service Router and Automatic Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) to its 5780 Dynamic Services Controller policy manager.  The solution will allow for automatic selection of the best available network based on criteria such as policy, congestion and other customer experience considerations. ALU will also offer integrated Wi-Fi as an option to their existing lightRadio Femtocell and Metrocell products. ALU supports several vendors of carrier grade Wi-Fi APs, including BelAir Networks, but may need to secure other partners once the Ericsson acquisition is closed.  Obvious candidates for acquisition would include Ruckus Networks and Wavion (recently acquired by Alvarion). 

   As vendors go, Cisco has been a long-time integrator of Wi-Fi in its enterprise portfolios.  More recently the networking equipment giant has introduced the technology to its service provider portfolio.  "We are now entering the post-macrocell era, where small cells also will play a critical role in delivering the next-generation mobile Internet," said John Chambers, Cisco chairman and CEO. 

   Cisco dubs its end-to-end Wi-Fi infrastructure entry into the small cell fray as a “smart cell” solution that will deliver Next-Generation Hotspots (NGH) capabilities.  The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA)-approved NGH technology is based on the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Hotspot 2.0 specification which seeks to provide mobile users with a seamless Wi-Fi experience.  The vendor’s Small Cell Gateway will allow operators to integrate Wi-Fi with 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE and femtocell networks to deliver that seamless experience across multiple HetNets.  Cisco has stated that the majority of the over 12 million access points they have deployed to date can be upgraded to support NGH.

   Assessing the true benefits of embedded Wi-Fi in mobile small cells may take some time, as indicated by a recent study conducted by Heavy Reading with the latest version of Wireless 20/20’s WiROI™ 4G Wi-Fi Business Case Tool.  Although the study demonstrates that deploying stand alone Wi-Fi offload networks could substantially mitigate 3G/4G traffic congestion in high traffic concentration areas, it is more challenging to assess the economic impact of adding Wi-Fi to 3G/4G small cells. The results of the analysis are published in a White Paper entitled “The Business Case for Carrier Wi-Fi Offload.”

   By Andy Mitchell, Editor, 4G Trends

    

   Bookmark or Share this article

Login to comment