White paper investigates cellular, Wi-Fi integration

A recent white paper from InterDigital provides a comprehensive analysis and standardization roadmap for the integration of cellular and Wi-Fi radio technologies.

The paper's introduction states: "Cellular and Wi-Fi radio technologies originated and evolved from two fundamentally different objectives. The former was motivated by the desire to make telephony technology mobile, and the latter by the desire to make data communications wireless. Over time, each has trended towards the other, with wireless data a central use of cellular technology today while over-the-top services provide voice over data networks. This confluence seems headed towards a fundamentally integrated cellular and Wi-Fi landscape, but the evolutionary nature of the trend has resulted in a broad variety of approaches and solutions."

Related: White paper explores DAS and small cell technologies

"Finally, the trend towards true integration is beginning to come to the fore," continues the introduction. "The need is particularly acute in small cells -- designed to address the high spectrum needs of local consumer and enterprise networks and hotspots. Thus, through its work on Integrated Femto-Wi-Fi (IFW), the Small Cells Forum is already taking steps towards defining the near-future of such spectrum integration. What will this future hold? A combination of integrated small-cell solutions, smart connection management at the terminal, within a policy framework that provides management controls to both users and operators."

View/download the white paper here.