With the expansion of Passpoint networks and WBA OpenRoaming™, the landscape of identity providers is undergoing a paradigm shift.
Wi-Fi roaming based on Wi-Fi Alliance CERTIFIED Passpoint® and IEEE specifications is experiencing rapid growth. While these standards and certifications ensure interoperability in the Wi-Fi ecosystem, many implementation details are left to Wi-Fi equipment, device vendors and network providers.
As Passpoint adoption expands, users will frequently subscribe to multiple Passpoint identity providers, and many venues will advertise multiple Passpoint services. In these scenarios, different players in the ecosystem – including network providers, identity providers, OS and device vendors and the end-user of the device – may have different requirements for the prioritization of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) in the venue and Passpoint subscriptions on the device.
Profiles provisioning and the prioritization and selection of Roaming Consortium Organization Identifiers (RCOIs) are the questions for service providers to offer good user experience for their costumers.
It is important to identify a set of standardization in the way profiles and RCOIs are prioritized. A solution to this problem will allow:
End-user will have more control over which profile he wishes to be used;
Identity providers will have better expectations and clarity in terms of prioritizing RCOIs within a profile;
Access network providers will, eventually, be able to take options in terms of what profiles / RCOIs they wish to see prioritized.
- Provide industry guidelines and best practices for prioritization of RCOIs within a profile;
- Examine on how identity providers and access network providers can prioritize profiles;
- Provide standardization recommendations to be shared with device and infrastructure providers on how profile and RCOI prioritization will ideally be achieved.
This whitepaper identifies common use cases and recommendations on the best practices for the ecosystem. The paper also provides guidance to implementers using Passpoint technology.
This whitepaper is brought to you by:
This project is bought to you by the WBA Roaming Work Group.
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