This paper describes a new wireless LAN system architecture that combines the wireless LAN radio access technology with GPRS core network’s management functions and roaming infrastructure. In this architecture only the control signaling is transmitted to the mobile core network

while user data is directly transmitted to the IP backbone. The main design challenge is to transport standard GSM subscriber authentication signaling from the terminal to the GPRS core using the IP protocol framework. An authentication scheme and the relative protocols are analyzed also.