ETSI Multi-Access Edge Computing extends services to WiFi to address enterprise needs
July 2020 by Marc Jacob
The ETSI Industry Specification Group on Multi-Access Edge Computing, ISG MEC, has recently released ETSI MEC GS 028 to extend network information services to the world of WiFi and thus squarely into enterprises.
Multi-access Edge Computing defines a standardized set of service APIs for applications at the edge of the network where the environment is characterized by low latency, proximity, high bandwidth. ETSI MEC GS 028 specifies a new MEC service for Wireless LAN Information, allowing applications to take advantage of up-to-date information from the underlying WLAN access networks. These features are addressed through specific RESTful Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
The current WAI API is available via ETSI Forge (forge.etsi.org) in a serialized fashion.
The information on current conditions from the wireless local area network access is shared via the WLAN access information service. This service provides service consumers within the MEC System with information related to WLAN access. It may be used by the MEC applications and MEC platform to optimize the existing services and to provide new types of services. For instance, interactive AR/VR applications can use information from WLAN access and combine it with radio or fixed access network information, to properly manage application connectivity and QoS. This allows to tune application behaviour to that of the available network.