By Peter Gaspar, Consulting Systems Engineer, Service Provider Mobility, Emerging Theater

It’s not new news that when it comes to network access, Wi-Fi technology is a cost-effective complement to macro radio access. Industry blogs continuously feature analysis about the economic advantages of using Wi-Fi as a small cell technology. No surprise, then, that many mobile operators have completed or are working seriously on plans to integrate this technology into their mobile ecosystems.

But when it comes to details, things start to get confusing. Terms like policy and charging, lawful intercept, mobility and SIM authentication start to pop up. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has incorporated Wi-Fi (non-3GPP IP Access) as part of the LTE architecture, created the terminology and studied the Read More »

Tags: architecture, data offload, mobile, Service Provider, wi-fi, wifi

By Lisa Garza

It was raining in London last week during the LightReading event Strategic Opportunities in Service Provider Wi-Fi.  That might not sound unusual, but actually my cab driver said it had been a dry winter, and the rain was much needed for his garden.  That’s how I felt about the event – it felt like a lovely spring rain.

Heavy Reading Senior Analyst Gabriel Brown first addressed the packed room by likening the early days of Wi-Fi to the Wild West.  With the advent of carrier-grade Wi-Fi, the integration of Wi-Fi into Mobile networks, and initiatives such as the Wireless Broadband Alliance Next Generation Hotspot Program, the west is slowly Read More »

Tags: Hotspot, next generation hotspot, Service Provider, wi-fi, wifi

The insatiable demand for smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices is generating staggering amounts of mobile data. The much-quoted Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) predicts that global mobile data traffic will increase 18-fold from 2011 to 2016, reaching 10.8 exabytes per month.   In tandem, the use of Wi-Fi for Internet access is exploding as more mobile devices are Wi-Fi enabled, the number of public hotspots expands, and user acceptance grows. Until recently most technologists and mobile industry executives viewed it as the “poor cousin” to licensed mobile communications.  And they most certainly never considered a role for Wi-Fi in mobile networks or their business.  The explosion of mobile data traffic has changed all of that.  Most mobile operators now realize that offloading data traffic to Wi-Fi can, and should, play a significant role in reducing clogged networks and the number of unhappy customers.

Mobile operators understand that off-loading data traffic to cheaper Wi-Fi defers significant capital expenditures for further build-out of the licensed network.  Operators around the world however, are asking if there is more to Wi-Fi than just data offload? Can they actually make money from Wi-Fi by turning the cost of doing business into profitable business models?  Read More »

Tags: business models, Cisco, data off-loading, IBSG, mobile, mobile data, mobile devices, mobile networks, mobile operators, monetization, service providers, wi-fi

With all that has recently been written about BYOD, it’s clear that enterprise IT managers need to consider performance requirements on the wireless access point. With more clients accessing the network, the performance demands in terms of coverage and client density will increase. Furthermore, consumer devices such as smartphones and tablets may have difficulty connecting to an AP compared to a laptop. This could be attributed to the fact that most of these devices either do not support 802.11n or they support legacy 802.11g/a. If the devices support 802.11n is sometimes limited to 1x1 MIMO. An access point that has superior performance will be needed to address the growing needs of these new clients.

Read More »

Tags: 802.11n, byod, cleanair, ClientLink, wi-fi, wlan

Have you noticed all those iPads around the factory? All around the production areas, the office areas and the warehouse? These  mobile connected devices and applications are quickly changing business and organizational models.

They are also changing employee habits and the way we work, as more and more users depend on tablets, such as the Apple iPad, for a variety of daily personal and professional tasks.

It’s not  just Apple, though they’re the most common. All those other tablets too.  Some of the others are  capable of a drop or two, or more onto hard concrete!

The most prevalent use case that IT departments need to solve for is the one where an employee brings their own personal device into the company and seeks to gain network access. This is happening a lot these days.  Funny, but companies are finding this is one of the ways they are attracting and keeping talent, especially young talent, so listen up!

Figure 1 illustrates the Cisco solution… Read More »

Tags: access, access point, bring your own device, Bring your Own Device (BYOD), byod, CIO, cisco byod, enterprise mobility, iPad, Manufacturing, mobile devices, network management, security, tablet, VLAN, wi-fi, wireless, wireless access points, wlan