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The white paper 'Integration of Cellular and Wi-Fi Networks', released recently by 4G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the 3GPP family of technologies, covers the current state of Wi-Fi/Cellular integration and makes specific recommendations to enhance key components. The main focus for the paper is Intelligent Network Selection (INS) which is enabled by Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF).
The paper reviews and describes fundamental aspects to Wi-Fi such as:
Seamless service / session continuity, QoS, security, Hotspot 2.0 and concepts of Intelligent Network Selection (INS) Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF), its technical background and existing challenges for ANDSF-based INS Device aspects of network selection and traffic steering, current standards and solutions and gaps in existing standards work
Key recommendations in the white paper include:
For standards bodies: enhancement of existing ANDSF solution by standardizing additional interfaces and operator policies and enabling the use of real-time Wi-Fi and Cellular load related conditions For device-side suppliers: implementation of standardized INS mechanisms (e.g., ANDSF functionality) and enhancements, such that INS behavior is consistent across device platforms For network infrastructure suppliers: implementation of proposed enhancements in support of ANDSF-based INS (e.g., new SIB mechanism and ANDSF interfaces)  “Resources of existing cellular networks are becoming increasingly constrained with smartphone adoption and bandwidth intensive services such as streaming video,” remarked Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. “The Wi-Fi technology standard is uniquely positioned to complement existing cellular networks given its wide adoption and harmonized unlicensed global spectrum allocation. However, to provide an enhanced customer experience, service providers need to improve Wi-Fi and Cellular interworking for ubiquitous mobile broadband access.” |
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