WLAN-3GPP Integration Architectures for Packet Based Data Services

With the rapid successful deployment of WLANs worldwide in numerous hotspots for high data rate, wireless access for data services has created the need to integrate the Cellular Networks with WLAN Networks. The integrated wireless environment will provide the end user a much better service experience along with a single subscription and a single bill. In this paper we focus on inter-working approaches, which combine WLANs and Cellular Networks into an integrated wireless environment capable of ubiquitous access to data services and very high data rates in hotspots areas. We first list the key requirements which are currently being standardized within the 30PP for integration with WLANs networks. We discuss two inter-working architectures namely loosely coupled and tightly coupled This paper will detail the loosely coupled inter-working approach while briefly discussing the tightly coupled inter-working. Finally, we will conclude that the loosely coupled approach is evolutionary and less intrusive than the tightly coupled approach.