Carrier WI-FI in the 5G Era

Mobile Network Operators (MNO), vendors, and standards organizations have been actively working on new techniques to increase and maximize the capacity of cellular networks, predominantly in highly densified areas. Different approaches can be taken to alleviate capacity issues in macro networks such as cell site densification and the incorporation of additional spectral resources as it is in the case of the unlicensed frequency bands available worldwide. There are several ways to include unlicensed spectrum in mobile networks, ranging from License Assisted Access (LAA) to the deployment of Wi-Fi in which subscribers can roam and thus offload mobile data traffic from the cellular network.

With the Wi-Fi Alliance’s introduction of Passpoint in 2012, end users are able to have a seamless connection between Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular networks, eliminating the need for users to authenticate each time they connected to an operator-deployed Access Point (AP) that was Passpoint enabled. This industry-wide solution also helped MNOs that started to deploy Carrier Wi-Fi (CWIFI) networks as tool to improve end user experience and offload their mobile data traffic. However, recent research findings show that the deployment of the CWIFI networks has declined significantly in favor of the LTE networks that offer a superior—and controllable—User Experience (UX) compared to Wi-Fi, which is a shared resource without Quality of Experience (QoE) controls. Monetization has also been a major challenge for CWIFI. For instance, China Mobile lowered the strategic importance of Wi-Fi after deploying 4.3 million hotspots to favor of the deployment of TD-LTE and subsequent 5G. The deployment of Wi-Fi network required heavy investment, which China Mobile was unable to generate sufficient revenue from. There are, however, additional factors that can be associated with the decline of the CWIFI networks:

• Wi-Fi spectrum is unlicensed and contested; its “free” nature also attracts heavy usage, lowering the UX for all users.
• New Wi-Fi business models have emerged, reducing the compelling value proposition for CWIFI. MNOs offered their users access to Wi-Fi access points in public spaces such as airports, hotels, and shopping centers as a value-added feature. However, these public spaces are now offering alternative Wi-Fi service, e.g., from the building owners. 
• Data analytics can be now managed by retailers based on their own Wi-Fi hotspots. Therefore, retailers will prefer to deploy their own Wi-Fi networks to collect data analytics rather than acquiring this service from MNOs.  
• People’s expectation of having access to free Wi-Fi in public places.

CWIFI was a good tool for MNOs to offload their mobile networks. However, the scenario of CWIFI changed due to technological evolution as well as new and more appealing business models for enterprises with Wi-Fi. These factors made CWIFI a less cost-effective strategy for MNOs to enhance UX and increase capacity.  

A technological factor associated with the decline of CWIFI is the evolution and maximum usability of cellular networks. LTE allows Carrier Aggregation (CA) and the implementation of techniques that allow the use of unlicensed spectrum. These techniques include LAA and enhanced Licensed Assisted Access (eLAA), standardized in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 13 and Release 14, respectively. LAA and eLAA are complementary to current MNO services offered in licensed spectrum and thus leverage the carrier-grade LTE infrastructure. Hence, MNOs lowered the interest in the rollout of additional Wi-Fi network infrastructure.

MNOs can, however, leverage their already-deployed Wi-Fi networks by upgrading to newer technologies such as Wi-Fi 6. The benefits of this upgrade in highly densified areas and venues will result in better digital experiences and customer engagement. Wi-Fi 6 also plays a vital role in the 5G era, helping to address different 5G use cases and bringing new capabilities such as higher performance, greater density support, better provision of throughput for more users, several features that enable Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Internet of Things (IoT) applications through higher data rates and lower latency.

Wi-Fi has become critical and vital to every public venue (retail shopping centers, airports, sports venues, the hospitality space), underpinning a stronger desire to manage the Wi-Fi networks in-house and rely on CWIFI less. This approach will allow business owners to capture information such as customer and behavior, enabling enterprises to create new revenue streams and increase engagement with the customer as well as increasing the dwelling times. Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) can also be combined with other technologies to offer additional services in indoor locations to provide additional value propositions to end users.

Now, with the recent introduction of OpenRoaming by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), different business models are being enabled by the removal of the public-guest Wi-Fi connectivity barrier. With this roaming federation service, coffee shops, hotels, transportation hubs, stadiums, music venues, and any other type of venue can leverage access to an open platform, making their networks available to a wider audience.

In addition, OpenRoaming has established different levels of Quality of Service (QoS) to the Wi-Fi networks, which will allow carrier-grade Wi-Fi service to be brought to more places. Based on this premise, it is likely that MNOs will start partnering with Wi-Fi service providers using their identity in a larger ecosystem of distributed access networks. Hence, by joining the roaming federation service, MNOs will provide additional value to their customers without the need to deploy additional Wi-Fi infrastructure. However, when it comes to the use of unlicensed spectrum, it is likely that MNOs will rely on the maturity of their cellular network by leveraging their LTE core as a primary strategy to tackle congestion issues in highly densified areas.

Overall, following recent research findings, ABI Research foresees the sunset of CWIFI in the following years due to the new strategies adopted by MNOs to enhance UX. In addition, Wi-Fi services will mainly be deployed by landlords or enterprise owners to enhance connected experiences within a venue, while MNOs will focus on the rollout of 5G and the maturity of the LTE networks.