A CableLabs technology called Intelligent Network Wireless Steering, or IWINS, could be the answer to a pesky problem that smartphones have: As they reach the outer fringes of a Wi-Fi network, do they ask for data from the Wi-Fi router or their cellular service?
It’s a problem that you wouldn’t think CableLabs, which develops the DOCSIS standards that govern cable modems, would normally solve. But about half the standards body’s members are mobile network operators, so it made sense, said Phil McKinney, CableLabs president and chief executive, and the former CTO of HP. It’s a problem users might have as they’re outside in their backyard, roaming through a mall, or sitting just out of range of a home router.