Wireless LAN based GPRS Support Node

Abstract

This paper proposes WLAN-based GPRS Support Node (WGSN), a solution for integrating 3G and WLAN services. We show that the 3G mechanisms can be re-used for WLAN user authentication and network access without introducing new procedures and without modifying the existing 3G network components. We describe the WGSN features and show how they are designed and implemented. A WGSN prototype has been implemented in Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and National Chiao-Tung University (NCTU) Joint Research Center.