November 2002

It could be possible in future for mobile users to "roam" seamlessly between the emerging 3G networks and local WiFi "hot-spot" networks operating under the 802.11 system. Hitherto these two technologies have been paraded as rivals, and some commentators have been predicting that the emergence of fast, cheap-access WiFi networks could undermine the appeal (and hence viability) of 3G.

Lucent Technologies, the international electronics giant, has now mounted a demonstration in the US showing that it is possible to browse the Internet from a portable PC, and move seamlessly between an 802.11 network and a 3G phone network without interrupting the Internet session. The system works with both of the current 3G standards - UMTS and CDMA2000. Lucent says the secret is a unique network architecture from Bell Labs.

Lucent paints a picture of a service engineer beginning to download large computer files while at base over a fast wireless LAN, but then completing the process over a 3G phone link while on the move.