New members aim to improve Seamless Wi-Fi Experience globally

November 8, 2010 — The Wireless Broadband Alliance (“WBA”), a pioneer in global Wireless Broadband roaming for public Wi-Fi networks, has announced that its membership numbers are swelling as 10 more influential organisations join the Alliance.

At the 18th WBA Roundtable Conference & WBA Partners’ Day in Auckland 2010, new technology members joining the alliance will include global giants such as Intel and Google; leading Wi-Fi network vendors Aruba Networks, Meru Networks and Ruckus Wireless; and the specialist roaming solution providers Accuris Networks and Aicent Inc. New operator members include NTT DOCOMO, one of the world’s largest mobile communications operators and TTNet a leading broadband operator from Türk Telekom group. This brings the total number of new members joining the group in 2010 alone to 16.

The Alliance now includes a unique mix of leading technology providers and ecosystem partners, in addition to the leading Wi-Fi, mobile and broadband network operators from across Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Chris Bruce, CEO of BT Openzone and Chair of the WBA said, “We are living in a world where there is explosive growth of mobile data, driven by new handheld devices, rich content and easy to use applications. Meanwhile, the desire to use social networks and be available is always growing. In this context, all WBA Partners are united by two common objectives. First, these organisations want to work together to make the Wi-Fi experience easier for the customers. Second, there is a real focus on creating new opportunities for 3G Wi-Fi roaming. We are excited about welcoming new partners because, with their own new perspective and expertise, they can only help us make these objectives a reality.”

Gilbert Little, Chairman of Accuris Networks said, “Seamless integration and roaming between 3G and Wi-Fi networks has become critical for many mobile operators. We have been working with our customer base to make data offload and Wi-Fi roaming a reality and we feel the best way to realize this in the wider marketplace is to work with Alliance. We look forward to help accelerate the adoption of the required elements within the mobile and Wi-Fi networks and in the devices to enable Mobile operators to leverage the many benefits of integrated Wi-Fi access.”

Cedric Gonin, Orange Wi-Fi Director and Co-Chair of the WBA said, “The key challenge faced by Wi-Fi ecosystem is to provide a homogeneous customer experience. This can be addressed only if the operators, device and networks manufacturers and roaming service providers all share a common objective and work together to build it. We are happy that by extending the WBA community to different kind of ecosystem players, we are now well positioned to make it happen shortly.”

The Alliance’s efforts to find a way of making Wi-Fi services easier and more secure for customers are ongoing. The most recent example has been the WISPr 2.0 trial, which was launched at the last WBA event in June 2010. The trial has aimed to demonstrate how mobile, cable, WiMAX and broadband service providers can seamlessly connect to Wi-Fi networks by taking advantage of WISPr 2.0 specification. This WBA trial now includes 20 industry participants including Wi-Fi, Mobile and WiMAX operators along with roaming hub providers, network infrastructure and technology vendors.  At the Auckland event, the early adopters of WISPr 2.0 specifications from the WBA membership are expected to share initial results. A number of mobile operators are participating in the next stage of the trial to show how WISPr 2.0 can help support seamless Wi-Fi connectivity and 3G-Wi-Fi offload opportunities from mobile devices using EAP-SIM authentication.

The 18th WBA Roundtable Conference is being co-hosted by WBA member – Tomizone Limited, which is one of the largest providers of Wi-Fi Hotspot services in Australasia and the Pacific. At the conference, the WBA members will also discuss roadmap for further enhancing Wi-Fi user experience, inter-operability and service delivery. The work-areas are expected to include new developments to support seamless Wi-Fi experience, 3G-Wi-Fi offload and roaming interoperability and compliancy requirements.

The WBA’s goal is to drive wireless broadband adoption globally by developing common commercial and technical frameworks for Wi-Fi interoperability across networks, technologies and devices. Members jointly develop specifications to deliver reliable, trustworthy and seamless wireless services.