Carrier

Reduce Network Congestion with Wi-Fi Offloading

For the past few years, 3G/4G networks have become increasingly congested due to the rising penetration of smartphones and tablets. Telecom operators are determined to provide a better communication environment for their customers. As the cost of expanding existing cellular coverage is prohibitive, many operators choose to deploy Wi-Fi, which offers higher throughput and lower RAN costs per gigabit. Edgecore’s carrier-grade Wi-Fi access layer offloading solution includes Wi-Fi access points, WLAN controller with scalable AP management, and a high performance policy enforcement gateway functionality supporting EAP-SIM authentication. Additional features such as high availability, lawful interception, and specific user routing have also been designed to meet the unique specifications of each operator’s requirements.

Feature and benefits

Carrier-grade Authentication Methods and Performance

One of the top priorities for carriers today is to monetize their Wi-Fi hotspot deployments while providing smooth and seamless offloading between cellular and Wi-Fi networks. Edgecore’s solution for carrier Wi-Fi has been proven in large-scale nationwide deployments, supporting login methods such as 802.1X with EAP-SIM, UAM (browser-based login), and WISPr. Additionally, features in Edgecore’s EWS gateway-controller such as IP address assignment, lawful interception, and specific routing have been designed and optimized to support carrier-grade performance.

Location-based Advertising with Scalable VLANs

Although Wi-Fi networks have yet to demonstrate a competitive average revenue per user compared to traditional cellular technologies, operators have discovered unique methods for Wi-Fi monetization. With Edgecore, operators can engage in new business models for revenue generation. For example, Edgecore’s solution supports scalable Q-in-Q VLANs, allowing operators to assign a unique VLAN location ID to each hotspot access point. Combined with customizable captive portals and Edgecore’s Service Zone concept, operators can enable a location-based advertising platform for business customers nearby the deployed Wi-Fi hotspots.

Virtualization of Network Gateway Functions

Edgecore is collaborating with carriers to migrate existing appliance-based network infrastructure to an NFV (network functions virtualization) architecture. By decoupling traditional Edgecore gateway network functions such as DHCP server, bandwidth control, and policy routing from dedicated hardware platforms, carriers can increase network scalability, improve rollout efficiency, and enable dynamic resource allocation. Along with system reliability features such as N+1 redundancy and WAN load balancing, carriers can guarantee uninterrupted AAA gateway service with Edgecore’s solution.

Reference

Public Service Provider

To collaborate with businesses and government, public service providers need to offer free public Wi-Fi and use the login portal for tourism advertising to increase visibility.

➤Project Customer:
       Wi-Fi Service Provider, Taiwan
➤Key Applications:
       Browser-based user authentication
       Centralized AP management
       Role-based user policy enforcement
       Customized walled gardens
       Customized captive portal & data collection
       Detailed user monitoring logs & report
       Location-based advertising