The Wi-Fi Alliance on Wednesday revealed its plans to begin certifying devices under its new Passport initiative, which ensures mobile phones – among other things – can log into Wi-Fi networks seamlessly. Now it’s the Wireless Broadband Alliance’s turn to pick up where its partner left off, integrating those devices and the access points into the mobile operator’s network.
The WBA has closed out trials of its Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) standard with some of the world’s biggest operators, including AT&T, China Mobile, BT, NTT DoCoMo and Orange. Encouraged by the results, the WBA on Thursday said that the technology is now ready for commercial launch and expects the first NGH deployments over the next 12 months.
The Wi-Fi Alliance aims to negotiate the tricky connection between phone and access point without messing around with log-ins and registration pages as part of its Hotspot 2.0 and Passport initiatives. If a device is authorized to use a particular hotspot operator’s network it simply connects.
From there NGH takes over, extending that handshake between phone and hotspot to the operator’s back end systems where the connection can be treated like a regular cellular link. A Wi-Fi access point becomes just another cell on the operator’s network: data sessions and even voice calls can be passed from the cellular to Wi-Fi, operator services like mobile wallet or media streaming subscriptions can be maintained and the carrier can track data usage and even bill for Wi-Fi consumption (though many wouldn’t consider that positive).
Here’s what WBA Chair Chris Bruce had to say about the trials recent completion in the WBA’s statement:
“The complementary relationship between Wi-Fi and mobile networks is finally becoming a reality. Next Generation Hotspots allow smartphones and tablets to automatically roam from the cellular network on to Wi-Fi hotspots thereby augmenting the coverage and capacity of both. Fixed and mobile operators alike are leading a Wi-Fi hotspot renaissance in a renewed effort to sate the seemingly unquenchable desire for ubiquitous broadband connectivity. What has made this trial so unique is that the key players from both the mobile operator community and the Wi-Fi ecosystem have actively come together and supported each other for this industry-wide program. The future is a great broadband experience that operates over all sorts of different technologies.”
One of the biggest benefits of NGH will be its support for complex roaming arrangements. No operator is going to build Wi-Fi hotspots in every cranny of the world, so they will need to partner heavily to either share capacity or buy it from third parties. NGH will be able to negotiate those multi-leveled agreements, allowing devices to not only connect to multiple networks seamlessly but also prioritize which networks they connect to.
Expect to hear much more about Hotspot 2.0 and NGH next week when Mobile World Congress ramps up. As I wrote last week, Wi-Fi has become a huge theme at the show and threatens to overshadow LTE and HSPA as its dominant network technology discussed. All of the key operator players will be in Barcelona as will its major industry backers, Cisco System, Ericsson (which just became an NGH fan by virtue of its BelAir Networks acquisition), Google, Intel, Ruckus Wireless, Aruba Networks and Accuris Networks.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
- The future of Wi-Fi in the enterprise
- The future of mobile: a segment analysis by GigaOM Pro
- What the Google-Motorola deal means for Android, Microsoft and the mobile industry
