Nokia Networks has reached an agreement to resell Ruckus Wireless Inc. 's Wi-Fi equipment and is due to formally announce the deal during the International CTIA Wireless in New Orleans this week.

Ruckus CEO Selina Lo mentioned the relationship with NSN during a Bloomberg interview last week. (See More IPO Ruckus .)

Now David Callisch, corporate vice president of marketing at Ruckus, has confirmed the relationship in a blog written for Billing World.

Why this matters
Apart from being a badly kept secret, the agreement between Ruckus and NSN shows how much more important Wi-Fi is becoming to the wireless broadband access strategies of the major vendors and their operator customers. (See Carrier Wi-Fi Is Hot .)

For NSN, the move follows Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC)'s acquisition of BelAir Networks Inc. , which filled the Wi-Fi gap in the Swedish vendor's portfolio.

It's not yet clear, however, whether NSN will integrate Ruckus's Wi-Fi technology into its radio access products or whether it will simply resell its partner's Wi-Fi gear. (See Ericsson Adds Wi-Fi With BelAir Buy and MWC = Mobile Wi-Fi Congress .)

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— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Light Reading Mobile