Ericsson and Cisco are “extending their strategic partnership” to include a new Wi-Fi product, while also talking up the progress of the alliance.

“To date, over 250 active customer engagements have now started to turn into won deals. More than 60 deals, spread around the world, are in IP (routing and transport) and services. The companies announced deals with 3 Italy, Vodafone Portugal, Aster Dominican Republic and Cable & Wireless in Caribbean in 2016,” the companies said in a joint statement.

Ericsson and Cisco formed their partnership in November 2015, describing it as “by far the best way forward” for the two companies. An “additional revenue opportunity” of $1 billion or more for each company by 2018 was stated.

The pair will now offer what they tag Evolved Wi-Fi Networks, a product combining Ericsson’s 3GPP access, core networks and applications with Cisco’s Wi-Fi portfolio, “to provide reliable Wi-Fi with the highest performance to Ericsson’s mobile, cable and other industries customers”.

Among the pre-integrated and verified solutions mooted are: indoor small cells marrying Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity; operator Wi-Fi products; traffic steering between Wi-Fi and mobile networks; and core network integration for Wi-Fi access.

Ericsson will be responsible for the design and deployment “with full product support from Cisco”. Evolved Wi-Fi Networks can be offered as a fully managed service, enabling faster rollout times and easier adoption.

The companies have already offered products targeting the same integrated mobile/Wi-Fi space.

“With Wi-Fi traffic predicted to grow to 50 per cent of the total IP traffic by 2020, a top priority for service providers is to deliver the best possible connected experience to their customers,” said Yvette Kanouff, SVP and general manager of Cisco’s service provider business.