Flavia's key concept is to expose flexible programmable interfaces enabling service customization and performance optimization through software-based exploitation of low-level operations and control primitives (e.g., transmission timing, frame customization and processing, spectrum and channel management, power control, etc.). FLAVIA’s approach is based on three main pillars:

• lower the interface between hardware-dependent layers and upper layers,
• apply a hierarchical decomposition of the MAC/PHY layer functionalities, and
• open programmable interfaces at different abstraction levels.

To prove the viability of this new architectural vision, FLAVIA will prototype its concept on two wireless technologies currently available: 802.11 and 802.16, which represent today’s two main radio resource allocation philosophies, namely contention-based and scheduled. Moreover, FLAVIA will assess the applicability of the proposed architecture concepts to the emerging 3GPP standards. FLAVIA’s concept will allow boosting innovation and reducing the cost of network upgrades. Operators, manufacturers, network designers, emerging third-party solution developers, and even experienced end users, will be able to easily and rapidly optimize and upgrade the wireless network operation, quickly prototype and test their new protocols, and adapt the wireless access operation to emerging scenarios or service needs.