Group Formed To Converge Wireless, Wireline Access

The working group was formed as part of the International Packet Communications Consortium (IPCC). Its mission is to develop reference architectures to enable seamless roaming across disparate access methods such as DSL, cable, 3G, Wi-Fi and WiMAX, the group said in a statement.

"We are at an inflection point in our industry as various packet wireline and wireless networks are converging," Michael Khalilian, IPCC's chairman and president, said in a statement. "Together with new revenue opportunities, this creates a strong need to address critical technical and business issues. We established this working group to foster industry collaboration in order to find the best solutions in these critical areas in the least amount of time."

Among the areas the group will address are seamless handover between cellular data and Wi-Fi/WiMAX systems. The goal, according to the group, is to simplify access by users and to create opportunities for service providers and operators to generate more revenue.

The working group was founded by IPCC members including Cisco Systems, Alcatel, Sonus, Time Warner Telecom and UTStarcom.