There is currently much discussion in the industry about Carrier Wi-Fi. However, the term has a different meaning depending on who is taking part in the discussion and where the topic is being discussed.
These differences in understanding means there is no clear shared vision of Carrier Wi-Fi amongst operators and vendors, or of the steps needed to achieve a shared vision.
The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), in working on this topic, is trying to bring together all parties in the Wi-Fi industry into one vision that defines Carrier Wi-Fi, with the goal of creating a shared industry definition. This will allow the industry to develop a CWLAN ecosystem and subsequently to give the Wi-Fi consumer, when connected to a carrier-managed Wi-Fi network, the best user experience possible at that time and in that location.
This whitepaper is written by the WBA members and is their definition and agreed understanding as to what is meant by the term ‘Carrier Wi-Fi’. This includes terms such as ‘Carrier Grade Wi-Fi’ and ‘Carrier Defined Wi-Fi’ as well as other possible variations on this theme. It does however exclude the work in the new IEEE study group on High Efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW), although a relationship between CWLAN and HEW may exist at some point in the future.
This white paper originally appeared on the WBA site