Disaggregated and Federated Public Wi-Fi Network Architecture

Traditionally telecom networks are monolithic in nature and vertically integrated. Single entity takes care of network deployment as well as service delivery. Internet service provider takes care of identity, access, transport, core and backhaul functions. Such monolithic and vertical integrated architecture lack technical innovation and economic competition. Monolithic architectures are also prone to proprietary interface implementations which leads to non-interoperability among communication layers, leading to cost inefficiency and network non-scalability. Whereas open and disaggregated network architecture induces innovation, competition, scalability and cost efficiency. There is multiple industry led efforts to transform telecom networks into open, disaggregated and federated architecture. Open RAN in cellular world and OpenRoaming in Wi-Fi world are few of the noticeable efforts. In India, WANI (Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) is one such disaggregated and federated public Wi-Fi initiative where identity, access, core and backhaul functions are unbundled and offered by independent entities, evolving the ecosystem as a federation. Interoperability among these functions is ensured through a secure exchange of well-defined federation protocols i.e., wani tokens. Disaggregation and federation also add up the network complexity. Enabling roaming in such disaggregated and federated network poses multiple technical challenges. Roaming in telecom network enables a compelling business case for the service providers as well as improve network usability for the end users. In this paper, we present current WANI technical framework, learning from initial deployment, existing technical gaps, ongoing efforts to standardize the architecture and a novel architecture choice for efficient roaming in such network.