Alcatel-Lucent is demonstrating software at Mobile World Congress that it says can combine standalone cellular and Wi-Fi networks into one unified wireless network. The company calls the solution Wi-Fi boost and is demonstrating it on Qualcomm handsets with specialized operating system software. Qualcomm and Alcatel-Lucent have been small cell partners for almost two years, and Qualcomm owns part of Alcatel-Lucent.
Wi-Fi networks use the same channel for uplink and downlink, but the Alcatel-Lucent solution moves the uplink to 3G or 4G cellular networks. Alcatel-Lucent VP of small cells Mike Schabel said that moving the uplink improved the range of existing Wi-Fi access points by up to 300%, and led to a 50-times improvement in uplink performance at the edge of the network. He added that downlink speeds improved by up to 30% when the downlink and uplink were separated.
Network software updates are used to blend the Wi-Fi and cellular access networks into a unified network. A small cell network is integrated with an existing Wi-Fi network via software, and then devices that already have both cellular and Wi-Fi chips are updated with software to leverage the new network capabilities.
“The industry debates the merits of voice/data over Wi-Fi vs. voice/data over LTE,” said Schabel. “From a consumer perspective, it should simply be voice/data over wireless.” But Schabel doesn’t think networks are ready for the demands that those consumers will put on them in the years ahead. “We have to be smarter about leveraging the technologies we have and blending them rather than keeping them separate,” he said.
Alcatel-Lucent expects Wi-Fi boost to be commercially available in the second half of the year with trials starting in the second quarter. Having already moved the uplink to cellular, Alcatel-Lucent now plans to also add cellular to the downlink.
The addition of a cellular downlink to the Wi-Fi downlink leverages LTE Wi-Fi aggregation (LWA). The company said that LWA can more than double download speeds relative to standalone network capabilities by combining an LTE cellular link and a Wi-Fi link in order to improve the throughput of IP traffic flow. The evolving standard has support from Wi-Fi vendors.
“Ruckus Wireless believes that the LWA initiative has great potential for the growth of the wireless industry. We support Alcatel-Lucent’s initiative to commercialize the integration and convergence of Wi-Fi and cellular networks, and will focus on introducing technologies that enhance Ruckus’ leading carrier-class Wi-Fi networks for enterprise and service provider customers,” said Dan Rabinovitsj, COO at Ruckus Wireless.
Working with Wi-Fi access point vendors is key to Alcatel-Lucent’s strategy for addressing the demand for enterprise connectivity. Schabel said that until now, small cell vendors saw the cellular service provider as the main conduit into the enterprise. But that is changing.
“The channel into the building is potentially led by the Wi-Fi operators or the Wi-Fi providers, because now they are taking their Wi-Fi networks and they’re boosting them. They’re giving customers a better experience,” said Schabel.
Cellular boost
While Wi-Fi boost uses cellular to enhance the performance of Wi-Fi networks, Alcatel-Lucent’s cellular boost uses unlicensed spectrum to enhance the performance of cellular. The company said it is fully committed to supporting global trials of LTE in unlicensed spectrum, based on local rules for coexisting with Wi-Fi and other users of the unlicensed spectrum.
Alcatel-Lucent’s top two competitors, Ericsson and Nokia, have already said that they will integrate LTE-U into their small cell solutions. Schabel says Alcatel-Lucent is also deeply committed to LTE-U. “That train is rolling,” he said. “And we’re on it.”
“Lately, we’ve heard a lot about LTE-U and LTE-LAA helping operators benefit from unlicensed spectrum in tandem with their licensed assets,” said analyst Peter Jarich of Current Analysis. “It’s important to see Alcatel-Lucent, as part of a larger mobile ecosystem, declare its support for these technologies. It’s even better, however, to see Alcatel-Lucent look at unlicensed spectrum, LTE and Wi-Fi more holistically.”
Follow me on Twitter.
