LIVE FROM TIP FYUZ24, DUBLIN: Experts from a cross section of businesses argued Wi-Fi is now just as important to the open and disaggregated network movement as RANs, a development with the potential to help tackle rising costs and customer experience issues.

Panellists noted a growing desire for seamless connectivity between mobile and Wi-Fi networks, along with the potential for businesses to benefit from cost reductions as access point hardware and software are separated.

Mark Schaps, SVP and CIO at hospitality and property management technology provider WorldVue (pictured, second from right), said its experience in a project involving 270 dwellings showed there is a big gain to be had by being part of the discussion around open-source features and design.

Schaps said it was quicker and easier to incorporate elements from multiple verticals, either through its own contributions or those of other relevant contributors.

The ease of changing hardware is another element Schaps flagged, explaining if equipment from a big-name vendor was installed, it was hard to swap it or bring in elements from other suppliers.

“Disaggregation is definitely the big piece, being able to use different hardware manufacturers and just putting the open source, open Wi-Fi software on top of it.”

Ciara McCarthy, CMO with specialised IT components distributor EPS Global (pictured, second from left), explained it is employing open Wi-Fi to overcome problems with legacy installations spanning several years and types of equipment.

She pointed to a project with industrial giant Thyssenkrupp which involved an ageing Wi-Fi network in facilities which relied on the technology to track materials, while simultaneously presenting a difficult environment due to the same materials.

“Their controller connections were unstable, sometimes the access points were connecting to the wrong controllers”, giving them the wrong network configurations.

McCarthy said open Wi-Fi delivered “remarkable” results, with a 60 per cent reduction in hardware costs compared with legacy equipment and a 70 per cent cut in opex related to licensing fees by using a single cloud-based controller.

“It’s dramatically improved their management and they also now have reliable networks”.

For Mario Di Dio, GM of network with science-oriented digital platform Nova Labs (pictured, third from left), the benefit of an open Wi-Fi stack is the level of control afforded.

He explained the approach enabled Nova Labs to implement features while maintaining the same level of trust in the network.

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Howard Buzick, SVP of business development at indoor connectivity specialist American Bandwidth (pictured, far right), tipped his hat to the variety of equipment an open community can help to create, noting the “vibrant” Wi-Fi work delivered more than 70 compatible access points by through open-source code.

The key difference to previous initiatives “where you set the requirements and expectations and everybody uses it the way they think it should work”, is open-source code use is widespread and provides greater interoperability, he said.

Under his role as VP of RAN technology with AT&T, TIP chair Rob Soni (pictured, third from right), explained a large proportion of smartphone traffic is already offloaded to Wi-Fi when available, creating demand for a more coherent user experience across connectivity options.

He explained the open Wi-Fi initiative offers the potential for disaggregation, easing the long-term migration of the technology by providing an open management plane.

This underlying layer means features which impact users or the network can continue to be provided regardless of the evolution of Wi-Fi technology, “because the management layer is now common”.