The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the global organization that connects people with the latest Wi-Fi initiatives, has added Uplink, the world’s first decentralized internet platform enabling both existing and new internet infrastructure, as an official member of its organization, along with being a speaker at Wireless Global Congress Americas 2024.As a member of the WBA, Uplink will have access to leading enterprises and the latest trends in connectivity.  Contributing to the decentralized internet infrastructure platform as it prepares for its launch into the worldwide market, Uplink’s goal is to empower OpenRoaming members within the WBA ecosystem, both Access Network Providers (ANPs) and Identity Network Providers (IDPs), and bridge them into a singular, decentralized platform where they can connect and solve market problems.

By joining the Uplink network, ANPs and IDPs will be able to further drive OpenRoaming adoption and connectivity, helping to both strengthen and enhance the entire internet ecosystem. Opening the era of 5G, the OpenRoaming Federation rolls out 3 million access points globally with secure and automatic Wi-Fi. In other words, it will grant easy, comfortable, and widespread access to the Internet, broadening business opportunities and massively contributing to customer satisfaction.

Uplink also announced its partnership with GL-iNET, a portable 5G & 4G IoT Gateways that brings secure network hardware and software to homes and office buildings. This partnership marks the beginning of Uplink’s efforts to upgrade connectivity for OEMs.

Uplink aims to unite existing and emerging internet companies and infrastructure onto a single, upgraded platform and network that supports WiFi, 5G, LoRaWAN, and more. While the WBA itself brings together some of the largest technology and telecommunications companies in the world with the aim of promoting connectivity and jointly developing innovations in mobile technologies, including standards and solutions related to Wi-Fi, 5G convergence, the Internet of Things, and OpenRoaming.“Today sets an important milestone for our company and team in expanding the Uplink ecosystem. Our company’s focus has always been to upgrade connections through our enterprise-focused solutions, and joining the WBA brings that mission even closer to this goal. We’re honored to become part of an alliance with a similar vision and are excited for what the future holds in Wi-Fi innovation and decentralized connectivity,” said Carlos Lei, Founder and CEO of Uplink. 

About Uplink

UpLink is a decentralized ecosystem dedicated to providing quality internet access globally. It recently raised $10 million in a funding round led by Framework Ventures. Uplink aims to unite existing and emerging internet companies and infrastructure onto a single, upgraded platform and network. With a vision of a decentralized and community-driven internet, Uplink offers tools and solutions to ensure connectivity is accessible to everyone, everywhere. The network is hardware and connectivity protocol agnostic, supporting WiFi, 5G, LoRaWAN, and more. Founded in 2016, Uplink operates from New York and Porto, Portugal. The company is an alumni of AngelPad #10 (Spring ’16) and Hub (Deutsche Telekom) WARP ’15 and has collaborated with Ericsson, Deutsche Telekom, and E.ON.

About the Wireless Broadband Alliance

Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) is the global organization that connects people with the latest Wi-Fi initiatives. Founded in 2003, the vision of the WBA is to drive seamless, interoperable service experiences via Wi-Fi within the global wireless ecosystem. WBA’s mission is to enable collaboration between service providers, technology companies, cities, regulators and organizations to achieve that vision.

WBA undertakes programs and activities to address business and technical challenges, while exploring opportunities for its member companies. These initiatives encompass standards development, industry guidelines, trials, certification, and advocacy. Its key programs include NextGen Wi-Fi, OpenRoaming, 5G, IoT, Smart Cities, Testing & Interoperability and Policy & Regulatory Affairs, with Member-led Work Groups dedicated to resolving standards and technical issues to promote end-to-end services and accelerate business opportunities.

Membership in the WBA includes major operators, service providers, enterprises, hardware and software vendors, and other prominent companies that support the ecosystems from around the world. The WBA Board comprises influential organizations such as Airties, AT&T, Boingo Wireless, Boldyn Networks, Broadcom, BT, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Intel, Reliance Jio, Turk Telekom, and Viasat.