STOCKHOLM -- A smooth and seamless integration of Wi-Fi access is an increasingly important part of any mobile broadband service. Most smartphone users have experienced the frustration of being automatically connected to a Wi-Fi network only to face a noticeably slower connection speed. To ensure users always get the best connection, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announces its 3GPP compliant Wi-Fi network access, control and management solutions. These enable mobile operators to easily incorporate Wi-Fi in their heterogeneous network strategy, while delivering a consistently high-performance user experience, even in high traffic areas. Incorporating Wi-Fi is a key focus of tier-one mobile operators. Daryl Schoolar, Principal Analyst, Network Infrastructure at Ovum, said: "Ericsson has clearly differentiated its carrier Wi-Fi solution through tighter integration with mobile operator's 3GPP access, control and network management. This approach should yield a better end-user experience by preventing some of Wi-Fi's well-known bad habits from being imposed upon users. At the same time, operators should welcome the tight integration of Wi-Fi and mobile, as exemplified by Ericsson's solution, thanks to the benefits derived from improving network resource optimization and ease in implementing and delivering Wi-Fi service offerings." Key to the user experience is an Ericsson industry-first feature that automatically selects the best connection: real-time traffic steering. Ericsson's real-time traffic steering is a software upgrade that constantly assesses key performance indicators in both the mobile 3GPP network and the Wi-Fi network before dynamically and seamlessly shifting the consumer's smartphone connection between networks. This ensures the best user experience and optimizes network resources. Real-time traffic steering is a network-driven feature requiring no user intervention or additional device software. Ericsson also now supports access selection, a self-optimizing network (SON) feature enabling load-balancing between Wi-Fi and 3GPP networks to optimize the average user experience. Ericsson AB