Resource Centre

WGC EMEA 2023 (Paris) – Day 1 Recording (25 October)

E2E QoS Improvement: Optimizing QoS Over Wi-Fi

Operators and Enterprises can use QoS as a powerful market differentiator to attract and retain customers, such as business travelers who need reliable, high-performance Wi-Fi in airports. Enterprises need Wi-Fi networks that can provide the right QoS for each application, such as prioritizing HD video collaboration sessions over email and file transfers. And home Wi-Fi networks need to balance a variety of bandwidth-intensive, latency-sensitive applications, including multiplayer gaming, 4K streaming and remote work videoconferencing — often all simultaneously.

E2E QoS Improvement: Optimizing QoS Over Wi-Fi report explores how network operators can meet the unique QoS requirements for a wide variety of use cases and deployments, including gaming, residential broadband, live 4K video, enterprise, airports, stadiums and more.

As its name implies, end-to-end (E2E) QoS includes the application, such as cloud gaming or streaming video, Wi-Fi network elements such as access points (APs) and Wi-Fi client devices (like mobile phones and laptops). The E2E concept is about providing both visibility into and control over the user experience by leveraging QoS mechanisms at each step of a packet’s journey across the Wi-Fi ecosystem.

The paper discusses the use of ITU-T SG12 recommendations and corresponding tools to access objective mean opinion scores (MOS) the QoS streams during the trials with outcomes from the trials.

Additional future, WBA work includes expanding network topology to incorporate Wi-Fi mesh (Wi-Fi Alliance EasyMesh), extending QoS management to non-Wi-Fi links for E2E QoS and integrating new QoS management mechanisms from ongoing work in the IEEE802.11 Working Group and/or Wi-Fi Alliance QoS Management TG, and/or IETF.

Connected Communities Forum (CCF) – September 7, 2023 Meeting Replay

Connected Communities Forum – September 7, 2023 Meeting Slides (PDF)

Get Ready for Wi-Fi 7- Applying New Capabilities to the Key Use Cases

• Double the bandwidth and three times the speed of Wi-Fi 6
• Advanced support for latency-sensitive use cases

Driving Connectivity in Smart Cities: Cityroam’s OpenRoaming™ Revolution

Cityroam, a roaming federation specializing in secure Wi-Fi roaming services, established in 2018, made a significant move in 2020 by deploying OpenRoaming (OR) in Japan.

This deployment marked a milestone for Cityroam, as they established an international partnership for their development of the roaming platform in Cityroam because it allows seamless connectivity to Wi-Fi networks without the need for multiple logins or installations of new apps. This benefits the users by providing safe and high-speed free Wi-Fi access, enabling them to stay connected effortlessly while moving between different Wi-Fi networks in Japan.

20 Years Infographic

For the past two decades, the WBA has been at the forefront of advancing wireless broadband technologies and fostering global collaboration. We have witnessed tremendous growth and innovation, fueling the development of a connected world. This momentous occasion allows us to reflect on our accomplishments and set the stage for an exciting future.

Delhaize Delivers Wi-Fi Excellence in Retail with OpenRoaming™

Retail businesses rely on technology to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience, and Wi-Fi access is a critical part of this equation. However, creating a reliable and secure Wi-Fi network across different locations and networks can be challenging. This is where OpenRoaming comes in, a technology that streamlines network access for users by providing a secure, seamless connection across different networks. 

The case study of Delhaize showcases how effective OpenRoaming deployment can benefit retailers, improving the user experience, and enhancing business operations. This article will delve into the details of Delhaize’s OpenRoaming deployment, exploring its benefits and how it has helped resolve specific issues in retail.

OpenRoaming™ for Education Brochure

WBA OpenRoaming™ is a ground breaking solution that directly addresses the challenges faced by the education sector. By providing a comprehensive framework, OpenRoaming empowers billions of users and devices to seamlessly connect to millions of Wi-Fi networks across the globe. With this innovative approach, educational institutions can establish a connected digital campus and contribute to the formation of a robust global Wi-Fi network.

Operator Managed Wi-Fi Reference Architecture and Requirements

With the increasing prevalence of Wi-Fi as the primary method of internet connectivity, the term “Wi-Fi” has become synonymous with the internet itself. Consequently, users perceive their internet quality of experience (QoE) as synonymous with Wi-Fi QoE. Users no longer differentiate between Wi-Fi service and internet service, expecting their Wi-Fi issues to be resolved by their internet service provider (ISP). This shift has turned Wi-Fi into a managed service, specifically managed by the operator, hence the term “operator-managed.”

This is WBA’s first document on operator-managed Wi-Fi, and it is anticipated that later phases of work will expand the scope of the requirements hereby defined.

The technical paper, “Operator Managed Wi-Fi: Reference Architecture and Requirements” outlines a new operator-managed Wi-Fi (OMWi) reference architecture. The proposed framework will combine multiple available standards to streamline Wi-Fi data collection, Wi-Fi management, configuration, and optimization of home networks, simplifying the analysis and decision-making process for carriers.

This paper represents the first phase of that journey, presenting an operator-managed Wi-Fi reference architecture that combines the benefits of all available standards, including Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) Wi-Fi EasyMesh™, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Data Elements™, and Broadband Forum (BBF) User Services Platform (USP) Data Models TR-369 and TR-181. Wi-Fi Alliance EasyMesh™, for instance, can be utilized as the standard interface for Wi-Fi data collection, Wi-Fi management, configuration, and optimization on home networks with a standalone gateway.

Register now for the upcoming webinar on 6^th June, 2023   “Optimizing Wi-Fi Experience with Operator-Managed Networks.”