Cellular/WiFi multi-mode systems

Multi-mode communication will be vital to consumers for applications such as GSM/WLAN VoIP conference calling or GSM voice/WLAN Internet access. Handsets will emerge that function in both conventional GSM cellular networks at well as WLAN hotspots. This paper details a transceiver solution with significant cost, performance, and power consumption advantages for a GSM/WLAN multi-mode convergence device. Significant gains are achieved over other multi-mode implementations by coordinating the transmissions and receptions between the wireless standards. By deliberately scheduling radio resources in a prioritized, usage-contingent manner, both standards have fair access to the radio channel while eliminating cross interference. This reduction in cross interference removes the need for expensive filter components and increases link reliability. Using this scheduling scheme, a practical GSMA/WLAN system can be implemented that is capable of simultaneous dual mode operation at very low cost.