Nokia Siemens, Ericsson Unveil Wi-Fi, Mobile Migration Tools

Nokia Siemens Networks and Ericsson have released their own solutions to help mobile operators better integrate Wi-Fi into their broadband services, and so improve the overall mobile user experience.

The two vendors at the CTIA show in Las Vegas this week introduced separate traffic steering offerings designed to enable people using their smartphones and tablets to be able to move from broadband to Wi-Fi networks without having to then deal with slower connection speeds or service interruptions.

Network Hopping

The goal is to create better heterogeneous wireless networks that give users a consistent experience as they seamlessly shift from 3G and 4G networks to Wi-Fi. Mobile devices often will shift from broadband to Wi-Fi when an authorised hotspot is available, which helps lessen the amount of traffic on already congested broadband networks and lowers the costs for mobile device users.

The offerings from Nokia Siemens and Ericsson not only help move users to a Wi-Fi network, but also help find the best network for their devices.

“Offloading traffic to Wi-Fi is only the first step to help mobile operators handle traffic congestion,” Randy Cox, head of small cells product management at Nokia Siemens, said in a statement. “With the new traffic steering capabilities, we go beyond offloading to steer traffic flexibly onto the most appropriate radio network, according to the operator’s strategy and actual network conditions. By using Wi-Fi networks in indoor locations, operators can deliver superior customer experience and cost effectively boost network performance for the subscriber by up to seven-fold.”

The moves come at a time when users are getting more access to operator Wi-Fi networks and increasingly are demanding better service. According to a Nokia Siemens report earlier this month, access to operator Wi-Fi is up 35 percent over 2012, while 47 percent of respondents to the study say wireless operators should offer excellent network quality. In addition, 29 percent said they would be willing to pay more for better service.

Nokia Siemens unveiled its Smart Wi-Fi initiative in February at the Mobile World Congress show and is now adding new components to it. The Wi-Fi Service Manager and Wi-Fi Activation Manager tools give operators real-time information about their own Wi-Fi access points or those from partners, and then can dynamically steer traffic between the Wi-Fi and broadband networks in accordance with the network load.

Ericsson Offering

In addition, Nokia Siemens is growing its femtocell portfolio with the FAPr-hsp 5120 Femtocell Access Point (FAP) for improved indoor 3G broadband coverage. The access point connects to a Nokia Siemens Femtocell Gateway though the user’s broadband link, such as a cable connection or DSL.