BANGALORE, INDIA: As the number of LTE networks grows in 2012, with 35 networks launching so far, and close to 200 operators having firm commitments, there have been questions around the viability or use of Wi-Fi in mobile networks.

Many mobile carriers have embraced Wi-Fi over the last year or so, with growing data demand and the need to offload traffic at congested cells and in residential homes where maximum data usage occurs. Wi-Fi’s massive footprint, low-cost, and the high penetration of Wi-Fi in smartphones (95 per cent plus) are driving carriers to seriously look at Wi-Fi as an integral part of their network.

Also Read: WiFi an alternate to clogged 3G networks?

Apart from using basic residential Wi-Fi, carriers are focusing their efforts on deploying Wi-Fi access points in hotspot locations like cafés, public venues, stadiums, airports, etc. A large portion of these access points are owned, deployed, and managed by Wi-Fi hotspot providers.

Instead of simply providing access to these Wi-Fi hotspots, carriers are in the process of integrating Wi-Fi into their core networks. In order to enable seamless roaming and authentication between Wi-Fi and mobile networks, extend BSS/OSS and customer management capabilities to Wi-Fi, and apply network policies while users are on Wi-Fi, large carriers like AT&T, SK Telecom, KDDI, China Mobile, and China Telecom have started deploying Wi-Fi access points in large numbers – some even planning over one million AP footprints, despite their commitments to LTE.

Hotspot 2.0 and Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) are vendor and carrier consortiums that are driving adoption and standardization of Carrier Wi-Fi. Trials using 802.11u and Hotspot 2.0/NGH technology are in progress, with 2012 seeing finalization of the specification. The timing of Hotspot 2.0/NGH syncs up with the acceleration of LTE and clearly suggests that Wi-Fi isn’t getting bypassed.

In addition, with the emergence of small cells, heterogeneous networks haven’t overlooked Wi-Fi with integrated 3G/4G/Wi-Fi small cells becoming available from vendors like BelAir.

While LTE is clearly gaining momentum, the motivation for adopting LTE revolves around customer acquisition and competitive differentiation, or being first to market. On the other hand, the adoption of carrier Wi-Fi as an offload mechanism is largely a defensive customer retention play, which could even be turned into an offensive competitive proposition.

In 2012, carrier Wi-Fi adoption is likely to pick-up, unaffected by LTE adoption, and will mostly be used as a 3G offload mechanism. Beyond 2012, LTE will also need Wi-Fi as an offload tool.