Top Global and Lucent Technologies recently announced an agreement to provide wireless service providers in the Asia-Pacific and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) regions with a solution that integrates third-generation (3G) mobile networks and Wi-Fi networks.

This enables operators to leverage wide-area 3G CDMA2000 and UMTS/W-CDMA mobile networks to carry the data traffic generated by Wi-Fi hot spots. Top Global's hot spot solution, called 3G MobileBridge, serves as a gateway that links the Wi-Fi and 3G networks, enabling business users and consumers to use their Wi-Fi-enabled devices in truly mobile environments such as trains, buses and other vehicles.

Under the agreement, Top Global and Lucent will collaborate to ensure the compatibility of Top Global's 3G MobileBridge solution with Lucent's 3G CDMA2000 and UMTS/W-CDMA mobile networking equipment. The two companies also will work together on joint-marketing and sales activities.

Last March, Lucent highlighted the concept of how Wi-Fi hot spots can be connected to the Internet via high-speed 3G mobile networks through its first "Wi-Fi on the Move" demonstration, which was completed at a major North American wireless trade show. The prototype mobile hotspot gateway used for this initial demonstration was developed by Bell Labs researchers and incorporated all of the necessary Wi-Fi and 3G CDMA2000 1xEV-DO networking components required for a public deployment into a single box — an industry first.