Wi-Fi Offloading, Why? – Chapter 2
What is Wi-Fi Offloading?
Mobile Data Offloading, Wi-Fi Offloading, and Wi-Fi Offload: The industry has given many names for the same thing, but none are good. If we could decide, we would have called it “right-loading,” as offloading is kind of a negative notion.
It is not about trying to get rid of the cellular traffic. It is all about enhancing indoor coverage for cellular subscribers and adding capacity cost-effectively to the mobile operator (MNO) network in the right places.
But who are we to set the terminology?
For the rest of this white paper, we will use the least bad name – Wi-Fi Offloading.
White Paper: Wi-Fi Offloading, Why?
This is an excerpt from our white paper, Wi-Fi Offloading, Why?, outlining the business benefits for mobile operators. If you like what you read, download the full white paper. As a bonus, you’ll also gain access to Wi-Fi Offloading, How?, a technical deep dive into deploying Wi-Fi offloading solutions.
In our book
Three criteria must be fulfilled to be called Wi-Fi Offloading
- A cellular subscriber is onboarded seamlessly to the Wi-Fi network using the Mobile device’s
SIM credentials. - An MNO Wi-Fi Connection Profile in the device enables automatic access to the Wi-Fi network.
- The Wi-Fi network is securely encrypted over the air (WPA2/WPA3 enabled by 802.1x) and managed by the MNO, a third party, or a roaming partner
If a user accesses their home Wi-Fi network or logs in to a public Wi-Fi hotspot through a captive portal, the data traffic is offloaded to Wi-Fi, but this is not considered Wi-Fi Offloading.
Using EAP-SIM/AKA/AKA’, SIM Authentication is all about a seamless and secure user experience. The user device is automatically connected to the encrypted (802.1x) Wi-Fi network(s) defined in the MNO Wi-Fi connection profile. A SIM authentication server, such as the one in Enea Aptilo SMP, integrates with the mobile core’s user identity database (HLR/HSS/AUSF) to authenticate and authorize the user.
Recorded session from July 23, 2024
Solutions for mobile / Wi-Fi convergence
As the mobile industry enters a new and much less profitable era, Wi-Fi is growing in importance as an effective, cost-efficient, and necessary complementary solution.
View this Wi-Fi Now special event recording from July 23 with Cisco, American Bandwidth, and Enea, where we explore all the current convergence offerings and their status.
When: Available on-demand.
Duration: Approximately 2 hours including presentations, panel Q&A, and audience Q&A.
