Connectivity and network equipment giant Alcatel unveiled its concept of a universal, combined wireless network concept at the on-going Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. 

Mike Schabel, Vice President of Small Cells in Alcatel-Lucent, when asked about the revolutionary concept, said, "With Wireless Unified Networks, we are excited to be taking the important steps to transform and greatly enhance the user's wireless experience in the home, at work, and in dense venue networks by combining existing Wi-Fi and cellular networks into one high performance network." 

Alcatel-Lucent is pushing the concept of "Wireless Unlimited Network" or WUN to become mainstream to optimize user experience. WUN combines all connectivity networks, namely cellular such as 3G and 4G, unlicensed LTE, and Wi-Fi networks. This will enhance user connectivity by increasing the range, capacity, and peak rates. 

Today's connectivity works on network exclusivity. When connecting to the Internet, a user may only take advantage of what network is available in the area, either cellular or Wi-Fi. Carrier operators would switch between cellular and Wi-Fi automatically, or the user can manually choose which network to use. 

Alcatel-Lucent hopes to unify both cellular and Wi-Fi networks, and change the way users connect to a network by pushing for a combined LTE and Wi-Fi boost in one connection. For the user, this means that both networks will be used and optimized at the same time. This combined network architecture will allow Wi-Fi's capacity and speeds to be made available for downloads, while the LTE network can be used for upload traffic. 

Peter Jarich, VP of Consumer and Infrastructure Services with Current Analysis, notes that, "Blending the capabilities of Wi-Fi and Cellular to achieve performance gains beyond standalone networks, we can embark on new, exciting discussions around the go-to-market strategy for in-building wireless that embraces both technologies while improving the consumer and enterprise experiences."