According to standards, a 3GPP AAA server provides authentication of the device so that an IPSec tunnel can be established for the Wi-Fi Calling service. This is a critical function of a next-generation Wi-Fi Calling solution.
However, what we have learned from our experience enabling 3GPP Wi-Fi Access and integrating Wi-Fi data sessions with the mobile core, is that real-world deployments many times need innovative features in order to get the service to work smoothly with existing systems. Very few operators have the luxury to build a service from scratch. This is also the case with Wi-Fi Calling.
No problem. There is an Aptilo Service Management Platform™ (SMP) application just for that, the Aptilo SMP 3GPP AAA+, which can be implemented on the same Aptilo SMP platform. It handles important functionality to control the user experience with vendor specific attributes e.g. for QoS as well as roaming and authentication with partner Wi-Fi networks.
We have added additional innovative functions to our Wi-Fi Calling server, the Aptilo SMP Wi-Fi Calling™, a Aptilo SMP 3GPP AAA application specially build for the next-generation Wi-Fi Calling use case:
The Aptilo SMP Wi-Fi Calling server perform the standard EAP-AKA authentication just as any other standard 3GPP AAA would do for Wi-Fi Calling. In addition, it extends the standard with support for EAP-SIM/AKA authentication through the HLR via the D’ / Gr’ interface.
The Aptilo SMP Wi-Fi Calling server can retrieve policies from multiple sources such as CRM systems, gateways and existing policy management systems (PCRF) and then form a Wi-Fi Calling policy decision based on the combination of these policy data.
A simple decision of whether to admit a user to the Wi-Fi Calling service or not may in practice demand input from several systems. The Aptilo SMP Wi-Fi Calling server supports the distributed policy environment that has been built out over the years at many mobile operators.
What about devices that do not support SIM authentication? We believe that mobile operators will need to have Wi-Fi Calling support for all kinds of devices that do not support EAP-SIM/AKA authentication, even Wi-Fi-only devices. They can do this by deploying third-party clients in the device utilizing the unique capabilities for non-SIM support that are built-in to the Aptilo SMP Wi-Fi Calling server.
Learn more about how the Aptilo SMP Wi-Fi Calling server add value to our next-generation Wi-Fi Calling solution.
