Some embodiments of this disclosure include apparatuses and methods for mechanisms to converge the Wi-Fi access network with the 5G New Radio (NR) access network within the radio access network. Some embodiments are direct to a base station (BS) apparatus. The BS apparatus can include at least a cellular distributed unit (DU); a cellular central unit Communicating with a 5G core network (5GC) via a (CU), coupled to the cellular DU; a wireless local area network (WLAN) CU, coupled to a WLAN DU; and the WLAN CU, coupled to the cellular CU.