Femtocell makes Wi-Fi truce for offload
Picochip and InterDigital show combined gateway which aggregates 3G and Wi-Fi spectrum
Published: 29 June, 2011
READ MORE: Spectrum | PicoChip Designs | Femtocell | Wi-Fi
One of the attractions of femtocells for carriers is the chance to offload data from overstretched 3G networks. There has been something of a war between the femtocell suppliers and those pushing Wi-Fi offload, but most operators are eager to use any spectrum ' licensed or unlicensed - they can get their hands on to cope with the rise in data traffic. Picochip is showing the way forward via a joint development with InterDigital, an initiative that has created a dual-radio gateway in which cellular and Wi-Fi run concurrently, to offer a 'super-connection' across licensed and unlicensed frequencies.
The converged gateway architecture puts a carrier Wi-Fi access point and a 3G femtocell in the same unit, with both radios running on a Picochip integrated circuit. InterDigital has contributed radio resource management and policy software to allow both connections to run simultaneously.
The companies' statement said: 'A smartphone can receive data over both cellular and Wi-Fi networks simultaneously, and the converged gateway can aggregate the two connections to improve quality of service or segregate different applications over different radios.'
In the former scenario, two weak channels could be combined to improve data rates and reliability. In the latter case, a user might watch streamed video using Wi-Fi's high bandwidth while keeping 3G, with its superior security and billing capabilities, for mobile shopping. There is also the opportunity to hand over from Wi-Fi in the living room to the femtocell in the homezone to the macrocell outdoors as the consumer moves about.
For carriers, the combined platform could be attractive, preserving their dedicated and controlled channel to their customers ' important for delivering secure or prioritized services, messages to clients, plus voice and SMS coverage ' while harnessing the greater bandwidth of 2.4GHz or 5GHz for mass internet traffic. Such approaches could become increasingly important as cellcos get more serious about tiered tariffs that offer different QoS levels and prioritize certain customers or types of traffic.
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