wifi goes mobile

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ALCATEL-LUCENT lightRadio WI-FI SOLUTION TURNING WI-FI HOTSPOTS INTO A HOT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR WIRELESS SERVICE PROVIDERS TECHNOLOGY WHITE PAPER With maturity in both technology evolution and standards development, Wi-Fi has effectively become “another wireless technology” which allows extended network coverage and capacity — for both wireless and wireline network operators and service providers — through the use of operator-managed-and-controlled Wi-Fi access points. This paper describes the Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio™ Wi-Fi® solution and explains how Wi-Fi can be integrated in a service provider’s network effectively and efficiently, making it a strategic lever for service innovation and revenue growth.

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Have you ever visited a coffee shop or other public Wi-Fi hotspot to access the Internet only to be faced with an endless number of potential networks to connect to? Which do you choose? How easily can you sign in? How much will it cost? And will your transactions be secure? Alcatel-Lucent announced the launch of lightRadio™ Wi-Fi® – removing this confusion and allowing operators to deliver seamless connection to mobile data such as videoconferencing and Internet gaming with no drops or change in quality as their subscribers move between networks.

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Page 1: WiFi Goes Mobile

ALCATEL-LUCENT lightRadio WI-FI SOLUTION TURNING WI-FI HOTSPOTS INTO A HOT BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR WIRELESS SERVICE PROVIDERSTECHNOLOGY WHITE PAPER

With maturity in both technology evolution and standards development, Wi-Fi

has effectively become “another wireless technology” which allows extended

network coverage and capacity — for both wireless and wireline network operators

and service providers — through the use of operator-managed-and-controlled

Wi-Fi access points.

This paper describes the Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio™ Wi-Fi® solution and explains

how Wi-Fi can be integrated in a service provider’s network effectively and

efficiently, making it a strategic lever for service innovation and revenue growth.

Page 2: WiFi Goes Mobile

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Wi-fi: unlicensed, global and everywhere / 1

2. Carrier Wi-Fi / 3

3. Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio wi-fi solution and a high leverage network framework / 5

4. Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio Wi-Fi solution for wireless service providers / 6

5. Components of Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio wi-fi solution / 7

6. Ready for onload: Alcatel-Lucent wireless packet core / 8

7 Conclusion / 10

8 Acronyms / 10

Page 3: WiFi Goes Mobile

Lightradio Wi-Fi SolutionALCATEL-LUCENT WHITE PAPER

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1. WI-FI: UNLICENSED, GLOBAL AND EVERYWHEREIt is not hard to see the appeal of wireless LAN (WLAN) technology, commonly referred to as Wi-Fi: a set of unlicensed wireless spectrum bands that can be used globally without restrictions, fueled by the vast number of portable devices supporting it in a wide variety of variants (IEEE 802.a/b/g/n).

The global numbers for public and private hotspots (zones in which Wi-Fi is used) at the end of 2011 were estimated to be 1.3 million and 345 million, respectively (Informa Telecoms & Media, see Figure 1). These numbers, together with predictions for the future by the same analyst firm, show that usage of Wi-Fi technology will continue on a steady rise for years to come.

Figure 1. Numbers of public and private Wi-Fi hotspots, 2009-2015

The use of public Wi-Fi hotspots comes with a number of problems:

• Inconsistentcoverageandperformance

• PotentialforcongestionduetothesharedmediumwithnostringenttrafficpolicyandQuality of Service (QoS) control

• Less-than-perfectsecurity

• Acomplexandattimescomplicatedloginprocedure,whichcallsforexpertknowledgeaboutWi-Fiprotocolsinordertofindanetworkandconfiguresecurityandloginsettings

02009

233

2010

282

2011

345

2012

416

2013

492

2014

571

2015

646

PR

IVA

TE H

OT

SPO

TS (

MIL

LIO

NS)

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

02009

0.5

2010

0.8

2011

1.3

2012

2.1

2013

3.3

2014

4.5

2015

5.8

PU

BLI

C H

OT

SPO

TS (

MIL

LIO

NS)

1

2

3

4

5

6

Source: Informa Telecoms & Media

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Lightradio Wi-Fi SolutionALCATEL-LUCENT WHITE PAPER

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The use of public Wi-Fi hotspots also includes a diverse range of pricing options, including manyfreeandpay-per-useoptions.ThestrongappealtobreakawayfromtheprohibitivelypricycellulardataplansandhighcostsofroamingwasenoughtomakeWi-Fiadefactochoice for semi-nomadic wireless data use globally.

The further adoption of Wi-Fi will be stimulated by technological improvements aimed at the use of wider and different spectral bands (IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11af) and variants of techniques that have already found a place in the cellular world, such as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO).

The biggest boost to even wider adoption of Wi-Fi may result from HotSpot 2.0, an industry-wide initiative driven by the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) and aimed at facilitating and automating secure and trusted Wi-Fi connection with the ability to use a variety of user- or device-based credentials. HotSpot 2.0 is built around a set of new IEEE specifications (see Figure 2):

• IEEE802.11u:networkdiscovery

• IEEE802.11i:encryption

• IEEE802.11x:authentication

Hotspot2.0promisestoautomatenetworkdiscovery,registration,provisioningandnetworkconnectivity–stepsthattodayaremanualwhenaWi-Fiuserconnectsto a given hotspot.

Figure 2. Wi-Fi standards and their inter-relationship

Source:www.newelectronics.co.uk,November22,2011

802.11ad6.757 Gb/s

60 GHz

802.11af600 Mb/s

TV white space

802.11ac6.933 Gb/s

5 GHz

802.11h5.35 to

5.75 GHz

802.11j54 Mb/s4.9 GHz

802.11g54 Mb/s2.4 GHz

802.11b11 Mb/s2.4 GHz

802.112 Mb/s2.4 GHz

802.11ah600 Mb/s

<1 GHz

802.11y3.6 to

3.65 GHz

802.11a54 Mb/s

5 GHz

802.11n600 Mb/s

2.4 and 5 GHz

Page 5: WiFi Goes Mobile

Lightradio Wi-Fi SolutionALCATEL-LUCENT WHITE PAPER

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2. CARRIER WI-FITheexponentialgrowthofdatatrafficonwirelesscellularinfrastructuresoverthelastseveral years has been matched or even surpassed by a phenomenal increase in Wi-Fi traffic originating from Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones and tablets.

Fromindividualhomesandworkplaces,tocoffeeshops,retailstores,hotelsandairports(and yes, even on the planes), Wi-Fi hotspots are continuing to proliferate and are becoming ubiquitous for semi-nomadic data connectivity. While the appeal of Wi-Fi lies primarily in its availability and relatively easy configuration, the use of Wi-Fi comes with the burden of:

• Shared(unlicensed)spectrum

• NoguaranteesfornetworkperformanceandQoS

• Apotentiallyhighprice(forexample,dailyorhourlyfees)

• TheneedtomanageaccessconfigurationformanyWi-Fihotspotsthrough protocols and passwords

• Manysecurityconcerns

Historically,Wi-Fihotspotshavebeen“darkcorners”oncoveragemapsofmobileoperatorsbecause at these hotspots the operators start losing visibility into their customers: insight intotheirconnectivityandenhancedcommunicationpreferences(forexample,contextandlocation).Atthesedarkcorners,theend-userdataservicesridingoverWi-Fistarttraversingalternativenetworkinfrastructuresthatdonotalwaysbelongtowirelessoperators.

The same situation is also valid for the wireline operators, including cable operators and multiple service operators (MSOs). While their service offering has been driven by large bandwidth interconnectivity with static, big-screen requirements (Internet over DSL orcable,IPTVathome,enterpriseconnectivity),theyalsoseetheopportunityinthe“smartphonerevolution”andwouldliketocapitalizeonit. WithWi-Fi’smaturityinbothtechnologyevolutionandstandardsdevelopment(forexample,MIMOandIEEE802.11u),wireless,wirelineandconvergedoperatorsalikearelookingatWi-Fi technology as an option to increase their service and business reach. Mobile service providers and wireless operators view Wi-Fi as another wireless technology that can augment theirmacroandsmallcellnetworkswithaffordablecoverageandcapacity,andwithuniversal acceptance. Wireline providers view Wi-Fi as a new opportunity to light up the ends of their last miles to attract more customers and also to leverage their overall networkforresellingandwholesalingopportunities.Obviously,theabilitytodealwithunlicensed spectrum has an additional appeal for all of these service providers and networkoperators.

Since2010,manydifferentapproacheshavebeenconsidered,examinedandevendeployedtoallowtheintegrationofWi-Fihotspotsintowirelessandwirelinenetworks.While these approaches have been somewhat standardized, they still represent many differentoptions,andoftentheymixdifferenttechnologiestoensuretheend-deviceconnectivity.Asaresult,thereisincreasedmanagementandbilling/chargingcomplexity.In practice, many instances of operator-owned Wi-Fi rollouts have resulted in parallel networkinfrastructureswithduplicationofseparatenetworksaswellassubscriber/policyand traffic management systems, as seen in Figure 3.

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Lightradio Wi-Fi SolutionALCATEL-LUCENT WHITE PAPER

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Figure 3. Carrier Wi-Fi as a separate network overlay

Until recently, standards-based approaches for carrier Wi-Fi have been based on treating WLAN(Wi-Fi)asuntrustedaccessandhaverequiredtheuseofdedicatednetworkelements which otherwise might not have been needed.

Thelatest3GPPstandardsworkisfocusedontrustedWLANaccesstoevolvedpacketcoreandbasedon3GPPR11SaMOG(S2a-basedMobilityoverGTP),asshowninFigure4.

Figure 4. SaMOG architecture for trusted WLAN access to packet core over S2a interface

Internet

Network and policy management

Service provider’s mainnetwork infrastructure

(wireless, wireline)

Network and policy management

WLAN AP(Wi-Fi)

Wirelessaccess

Wirelineaccess

Service provider’sWi-Fi access/network infrastructure

Internet

WLAN AP(Wi-Fi)

Trusted WLANaccess gateway

Single tunnel per AP

Protected tunnel

S2a

SWx

STa

PGW/GGSN

AAA HSS/HLR

PACKET CORE

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Lightradio Wi-Fi SolutionALCATEL-LUCENT WHITE PAPER

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This approach leverages improved WLAN security (based on IEEE 802.11-2007, IEEE 802.11i, Advanced Encryption Standard) and more efficient secure tunnel management (tunnels between Wi-Fi access points and the WLAN gateway), eliminating the need for EnhancedPacketDataGateway(ePDG)orHomeAgent(HA)elementsin3GPP-onlynetworkenvironments.ThisapproachresultsintheabilitytoaddressInternetoffloaddirectly from the Trusted WLAN gateway instead of requiring the traffic to cross the backhaulnetworkthroughthepacketcore.

There are few or no changes in end-user equipment (mobile terminals) because this approachreplacesthelarge-scaleIPsecconnectivityrequirementbetweenend-userdevices and a gateway (potentially millions), per previous standards, with manageable scalingofsecuretunnelsbetweenaccesspoints(APs)andagateway(potentiallythousands)usingGenericRoutingEncapsulation(GRE)orIPsec.WithprotocolsupportontheWLANfor interfacing Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) servers, this model allowseasyintegrationwithanetworkoperator’sbillingandchargingsystemswhileensuringAP-cellularinter-mobility.

3. ALCATEL-LUCENT lightRadio WI-FI SOLUTION AND A HIGH LEVERAGE NETWORK FRAMEWORKAs an inventor, innovator and leader in all types of wireless technologies, Alcatel-Lucent has been investigating Wi-Fi to create and deliver a comprehensive solution for easy integrationofWi-Fi–bothasanaccesstechnologyandasaservice—intonetworkinfrastructuresandserviceofferingsofwirelessandwirelinenetworkoperatorsandservice providers.

TheAlcatel-LucentlightRadio™Wi-Fisolutionenablesextendingwirelesscoverage andincreasingthenetworkcapacitydeliveredtoendusersandtheirmobiledevices(forexample,smartphones,tabletsandnetbooks).Operator-managedandcontrolledWi-FiAPsarefullyintegratedwiththeoverallnetworkinfrastructuretoensureseamlessconnectivityandanenrichedend-userexperience.

With Alcatel-Lucent, Wi-Fi no longer needs to be delivered as another parallel infrastructure thatincursadditionalCAPEXandOPEXandhasextracomplexityintheformofaseparatenetworkandseparatesubscriber/policyandtrafficmanagementsystems.Wi-FitechnologybecomessimplyanotherwirelesstechnologyfornetworkoperatorstomanageandincludeaspartofalargerheterogeneousRANorwirelineaccess/servicestrategy—andthisisessentialtopreserve/expandthecustomerbaseandofferamorecompletesolution.

WiththeAlcatel-LucentlightRadioWi-Fisolution,Wi-Ficanbeintegratedwiththerestoftheoperator’snetworkinacost-effectiveandtrustedmanner,allowingthenetworkto become a strategic platform for service innovation and revenue growth. At the same time,thelightRadioWi-Fisolutionoffersthebenefitsoftrafficoffload–usingthemostappropriateandcost-effectivepartofthenetworktoreduceoverallnetworkcosts.

Thissolutionisbasedontheindustry-leadingAlcatel-LucentHighLeverageNetwork™(HLN)evolutionframework.AsisshowninFigure5,HLNallowsserviceproviderstoextractmorevaluefromthenetwork,harnessApplicationEnablementandturnchallengesinto growth opportunities for long-term business success.

Page 8: WiFi Goes Mobile

Lightradio Wi-Fi SolutionALCATEL-LUCENT WHITE PAPER

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4. ALCATEL-LUCENT lightRadio WI-FI SOLUTION FOR WIRELESS SERVICE PROVIDERSTheAlcatel-LucentlightRadioWi-Fisolutionisequallyapplicabletowirelessserviceprovidersandnetworkoperators–andtowirelinenetworkoperators(fixedserviceproviders, cable operators/MSOs) who plan to incorporate Wi-Fi access either as a part of their service offering or as a means to boost their revenues through reselling and wholesaling opportunities.

Thesolutionreducestheoverallcomplexityforbothendusersandserviceproviders.Relyingonthelatestadvancesin3GPPandIEEEstandards,itallowseasy,secureandtrustedWi-Fiaccesswithzeroconfigurationforendusers,improvingtheirexperiencewithseamlessconnectivityandmobilitybetweenWi-Fiandthecellularnetwork.

Fornetworkoperators,thelightRadioWi-Fisolutioncreatesanopportunitytofurtherimprovetheirnetworkandsubscriberyield.

Figure 5. Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio Wi-Fi solution and HLN framework

Enterprise

Residential

WLAN AP(Wi-Fi)

Small cells

WIRELESS RAN(LIGHTRADIO™ NETWORK)

Macro cells

NETWORK MANAGEMENT

PACKET CORE

WLAN AP(Wi-Fi)

Copper

Fiber

WIRELINE ACCESS

Converged backbone

Packet core

Backhaulaggregation

Metroaggregation

CONVERGEDSERVICES CONTROL

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Lightradio Wi-Fi SolutionALCATEL-LUCENT WHITE PAPER

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Asimplifiednetworkdiagramoutliningthemaincomponentsofthesolutionforwirelessservice providers is shown in Figure 6.

AsFigure6shows,Wi-FiaccessisseenasanaturalextensionoffunctionalitydeliveredbytheAlcatel-LucentlightRadioportfolio,addingmoreflexibilityindeploymentsthatrequireamixofsmallandmetrocells.

5. COMPONENTS OF ALCATEL-LUCENT lightRadio WI-FI SOLUTIONAsshowninFigure8,theAlcatel-LucentlightRadioWi-Fisolutionencompasses:

• Wi-FiAPs,realizedthroughthelightRadioportfolioorthroughinterworkingwiththird-partyWi-FiAPvendors(PleasecontactAlcatel-Lucentforthelatestlistoftestedandpre-integratedAPvendors.)

• WLANgateway,basedontheAlcatel-Lucent7750ServiceRouter(SR)

• Alcatel-LucentWirelessPacketCore,whichensuresinter-mobilityandIPanchoringthroughtheconvergedGatewayGPRSSupportNode/PublicDataNetwork(GGSN/PDN)gatewayfunctionalityoftheAlcatel-Lucent7750SR(asamobilegateway)

• Wi-FiControlModule,implementedontheAlcatel-Lucent5780DynamicServicesController (DSC), the leading policy management platform. With the incorporation of andextensionstotheAccessNetworkDiscoveryandSelectionFunction(ANDSF)initsWi-FiControlModule,the5780DSCisabletofurtherextenditspolicymanagementcapabilities and drive end users and/or their devices to automatically discover and select the best possible or the most appropriate wireless access at a time (Wi-Fi, small cellsorthemacrocellularnetwork).The5780DSCcanalsoperformthePolicyandChargingRulesFunction(PCRF).Withuniqueabilitiestoleveragenetworkintelligenceand subscriber information, coupled with its tight integration with charging/billing systems,the5780DSCcanfacilitateuniformapplicationofflexibleandconvergednetworkpoliciesacrossthewireless,wirelineandconvergednetworkenvironments.

Figure 6. Simplified functional diagram of Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio Wi-Fi solution for wireless service providers

PGW/GGSN

WLANgateway

Wi-Fi controlmodule

WIRELESSPACKET CORE

Wi-Fi ENABLEDlightRadio NETWORK

Enterprise cells

Femto cells

Metro cellsWLAN AP(Wi-Fi)

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Lightradio Wi-Fi SolutionALCATEL-LUCENT WHITE PAPER

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• TheAlcatel-LucentlightRadioWi-FisolutionismanagedendtoendbytheAlcatel-Lucent5620ServiceAwareManager(SAM),whichprovidesintegratedelement,networkandservice-aware management capabilities for all Alcatel-Lucent products encompassed by thissolutionwhileexpandingitsmanagementcapabilitiestotheunderlyingbackhaulandtransportnetworks.

FormoreinformationonAlcatel-LucentlightRadioWi-Fisolution,pleasevisit: www.alcatel-lucent.com/lightradio-wifi

6. READY FOR ONLOAD: ALCATEL-LUCENT WIRELESS PACKET CORETheextensionofwirelessaccesscoverageandcapacitythatcomeswiththeAlcatel-LucentlightRadioWi-Fisolutionhasadirectimpactonthewirelesspacketcore.Allend-userand/or end-device traffic that may have used alternative wireless and transport infra-structures (such as end-user traffic traversing over third-party Wi-Fi hotspots and Wi-Fi backhaulnetworks)mustnowbeaccommodatedinthewirelesspacketcoretoachievefull management of end-users’ QoS/QoE with seamless mobility, connectivity and policy management, for millions of connections, in real time.

Tocopewiththisinfluxofbandwidthandsignalingcausedbytheadditionofusers,connecteddevicesandnetworkapplicationsthatareservedbythelightRadioWi-Fi solution,thewirelesspacketcoreneedstodeliverhighdataandcontrolplaneperformancewiththescalabilityrequiredformassivedeliveryofwirelessbroadband—topotentiallymillions of users and devices.

Figure 7. Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio Wi-Fi solution

Enterprise

Internet

Residential

CDN

7750 SR(SGW/PGW/GGSN)

7750 SR(WLAN GW)

9471 WMM(MME/SGSN)

5780 DSC(PCRF/ANDSF)

9900 WNG

8950 AAA 8650 SDM

5620 SAM

NETWORK MANAGEMENT

WIRELESSPACKET CORE

Wi-Fi ENABLEDlightRadio NETWORK

9362 Enterprise Cell

9363 Metro CellIndoor MS

9764Metro CellOutdoor

WLAN AP(Wi-Fi)

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Alcatel-LucentWirelessPacketCorehasbeenengineeredforthefurtherevolutionofbroadbandtoaddressthemulti-dimensionalandexponentialincreaseinthenumberofusers, devices and applications as well as higher bandwidth, lower latency and longer duration of data sessions.

WithAlcatel-LucentWirelessPacketCore,mobileoperatorsandserviceproviderscanconvergeandconsolidatetheirwirelesscore—for2G/3G/3G+,LTE/4Gandnow Wi-Fionasuper-scalableall-IPmultiserviceinfrastructurewithexceptionalperformance,advancedQoScapabilitiesandhighoperationalflexibility.Significantsavingscanbeobtainedfromthepacketcoreabilitytodelivertrafficmorereliablyandcost-efficientlyandbyleveragingnetworkintelligenceandpolicymanagementtogeneratenewformsofrevenuesfromnewnetworkservicesandapplications.Alcatel-LucentWirelessPacketCoreisalsoafoundationfortheoverallcoreconvergence—forwireless,wirelineandconvergednetworkenvironments.

AsshowninFigure8,Alcatel-LucentWirelessPacketCorecomprises:

• Alcatel-Lucent7750SR,anindustry-leadingserviceroutingplatformthatprovidesconvergeddata/userplanemobilegatewayfunctions(SGW/PGW/GGSN)for2G, 3G,3G+andLTE/4G.

• Alcatel-Lucent9471WirelessMobilityManager(WMM),ahigh-performanceconvergedcontrol plane element for SGSN/Mobility Management Entity (MME) functions

• Alcatel-Lucent5780DSC

• Alcatel-Lucent5620SAM

FormoreinformationontheAlcatel-LucentWirelessPacketCore,pleasevisit: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/uwpc

Figure 8. Alcatel-Lucent Wireless Packet Core

7750 SR(SGW/PGW/GGSN)

9471 WMM(MME/SGSN)

5780 DSC(PCRF,

Wi-FI control)

5620 SAM

NETWORK MANAGEMENT

WIRELESS PACKET CORE

Page 12: WiFi Goes Mobile

www.alcatel-lucent.com Alcatel, Lucent, Alcatel-Lucent, the Alcatel-Lucent logo and lightRadio are trademarks of Alcatel-Lucent. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The information presented is subject to change without notice. Alcatel-Lucent assumes no responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein. Copyright © 2012 Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved. M2012011886 (January)

7 CONCLUSIONTheAlcatel-LucentlightRadioWi-Fisolutionequipsserviceprovidersandnetworkoperatorswith the most complete, carrier-grade Wi-Fi solution available today. By integrating trusted Wi-Fiasanessentialandintegralpartoftheirnetworkinfrastructure,mobileoperatorscan:

• Providemobileuserswithasecure,seamlessexperienceacrossWi-Fihotspotsandcellularnetworks

• TakeadvantageofexponentialincreasesintrafficfromWi-Fienableddevices

• Openthenetworkforreselling/wholesalingopportunities

• Furtherdriverevenueandmonetization.

8 ACRONYMS3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

AAA Authentication, Authorization and Accounting

ANDSF Access Network Discovery and Selection Function

AP access point

ePDG Enhanced Packet Data Gateway

GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node

GRE Generic Routing Encapsulation

HA Home Agent

LTE Long Term Evolution

MIMO multiple-input and multiple-output

MME Mobility Management Entity

MSO multiple service operator

MU-MIMO multi-user multiple-input and multiple-output

PCRF Policy and Charging Rules Function

PDN Public Data Network

QoE quality of experience

QoS Quality of Service

WFA Wi-Fi Alliance

WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

Wi-Fi®, Wi-Fi Alliance® and the Wi-Fi logo are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.