The report highlights the growing trend of integrating Wi-Fi and small cells. In order to cope with the increasing demand for data and congested networks, operators have turned to Wi-Fi hotspots and small cells indoors and outdoors to offload traffic and maintain manageable data flow. The market growth of both technologies as well as multiple co-existence scenarios are deriving operators and solution provider to adopt more cost effective models through integrating these technologies together.
The first section of the report gives a brief background about the market development as well as integration benefits and market drivers. Examples of current challenges are also listed.
The following section examines the network architectures and technical developments of integrated Wi-Fi small cells. This follows the standard and industry efforts led by Small Cells Forum, Wireless Broadband Alliance, and 3GPP. Levels of integration as well as architectural integration scenarios are explained.
The last section includes the market status and vendor profiles. Examples of the main solutions available as well as operators’ activities from different regions are discussed.