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A Generic Access Network (GAN) is a 3GPP mobile-network architecture that lets a mobile station reach a cellular core through a broadband IP connection. A Generic Access Network Controller (GANC) bridges that IP connection to the core’s standard A and Gb interfaces. GAN is not another name for Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi or another IP network may provide the transport, while GAN describes the architecture and functions carried over it.
What does Generic Access Network mean?
In 3GPP’s Release 6 study, a Generic Access Network is “an access network providing access to A/Gb interfaces using broadband IP network.” The definition is specific to the 3GPP GAN architecture; the phrase may be used descriptively in other contexts.
In practical terms, GAN provides an alternate path between a mobile station and the mobile operator’s core. The IP access network carries the connection, and the GANC provides the GAN-specific functions that link it to the core. The foundational definition appears in 3GPP TR 43.901 V6.0.0, Release 6 (August 2004).
How does GAN connect IP access to a cellular core?
The mobile station connects over a generic broadband IP network, such as cable or DSL in the study’s examples, to the GANC. The GANC then presents a GERAN base-station-subsystem-like role to the core. It connects to the mobile switching center (MSC) over the A interface for circuit-switched services and to the serving GPRS support node (SGSN) over the Gb interface for packet services. The study says no changes to those core protocols were considered necessary.
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The IP network is transport, not the GAN itself. GAN is the architecture around the mobile station, GAN signaling and controller that allows that transport to reach the cellular core.
How does a mobile station use GAN?
- Connect to IP access. The mobile station attaches to an available IP access network.
- Establish a secure connection to the GANC. In the study’s design, the station sets up a secure tunnel on the Up interface to the GANC’s security gateway.
- Authenticate and register. The architecture describes authentication through the operator’s AAA infrastructure, followed by GAN registration.
- Exchange service signaling. Once registration is accepted, the station can use GAN mode and exchange signaling with the core through the GANC.
These are architectural steps from the 3GPP study, not instructions for configuring a current consumer Wi-Fi-calling service.
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What security does the GAN study specify?
The study’s requirement is that “GAN shall provide security at least as good as GERAN for all traffic between mobile station and GANC.” It describes bilateral authentication and encryption for signaling and user-plane traffic, including a secure tunnel on the Up interface. This states the study’s design requirement; it does not establish that every service deployed under a related name has identical security implementation or properties.
What do roving and handover mean in GAN?
Roving: idle-mode reselection
Roving is reselection between GAN and GERAN or UTRAN while the mobile station is idle. In other words, the device changes its access mode when it is not engaged in a call.
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Handover: changing access during a call
Handover is movement between GAN and GERAN or UTRAN while a call is in progress. Mode preferences and transitions are subject to operator policy; the study also discusses avoiding repeated switching, known as ping-pong.
Is GAN the same as Wi-Fi calling?
No. GAN is a defined 3GPP architecture, historically associated with Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA), in which a GANC connects IP access to the mobile core. Wi-Fi can serve as the IP transport in an implementation, but Wi-Fi itself is not GAN.
The GAN architecture described by 3GPP should not be treated as a description of every current carrier Wi-Fi-calling service. A carrier-specific source is needed to establish whether a particular service uses a GANC and GAN-specific signaling, which core interfaces and service domains it supports, and how it handles authentication and mobility.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is the current standards context?
The foundational definition in this article comes from the 2004 Release 6 feasibility study for generic access to A/Gb interfaces. A secondary catalog description of ETSI TS 143 318 V18.0.0, aligned with 3GPP TS 43.318 Release 18 and dated May 2024, says the GAN Stage 2 specification covers system concepts, architecture, entities, interfaces and high-level procedures. It describes A/Gb mode for GSM/GPRS services and Iu mode for UMTS services. That catalog summary is not a substitute for the official Release 18 specification when a clause-level claim is needed.
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