Wi-Fi hotspots become automated for users

Says Michael Fletcher, sales director for Ruckus Wireless Sub-Saharan Africa, "Historically, to connect to a hotspot, users have had to perform the arduous task of manually selecting from a number of Wi-Fi networks that may or may not be able to provide them service and perform the tedious process of logging in with their user credentials.

"Using Passpoint-certified devices, this process will be completely automated. Passpoint-certified mobile devices automatically select a Wi-Fi hotspot based on information advertised by Passpoint-certified Wi-Fi access points. While roaming, mobile devices can identify hotspots supporting roaming with the user's home service providers. If it is, the device automatically connects to the hotspot, securing the link with advanced Wi-Fi security."

According to Informa Telecoms and Media, the number of hotspots worldwide is expected to more than double from 2.1 million in 2012 to over 5.8 million by 2015. Moreover, in a January 2012 study, Mobia found nearly 70% of smartphone-originated data traffic was over Wi-Fi, compared to 30% over cellular technology.

No-cost software upgrade

One of the first to integrate 802.11u within its Smart Wi-Fi access points, Ruckus has completed interoperability testing with several operators and handset manufacturers around the world. Support for 802.11u and the technology tested by the Wi-Fi Alliance's Passpoint certification program will be available as a no-cost software upgrade on Ruckus ZoneFlex access points by the end of this year.

Many mobile device manufacturers and infrastructure suppliers, including Ruckus Wireless, are implementing these new Wi-Fi capabilities within their equipment and have participated in trials under the Wireless Broadband Alliance's Next Generation Hotspots (NGH) initiative.

The Wi-Fi Alliance Hotspot 2.0 Specification that underlies the first phase of the Passpoint program includes the automation of three typically manual processes:

1. Discovering and selecting a Wi-Fi network
   
2. Authenticating the user and device using the internal SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card found in many mobile devices (as well as support for non-SIM devices)
   
3. Securing the connection of each device using WPA-2 Enterprise encryption and authentication
   

Reducing operational costs

Operators around the world are embracing Wi-Fi as means to inject much needed capacity into their mobile networks caused by the flood of data from new smart mobile devices. The use of Wi-Fi Certified Passpoint equipment will reportedly benefit service providers in a number of ways, such as accelerating the offload of data from cellular networks to Wi-Fi and reducing operational costs by providing a single Wi-Fi network that can advertise support for multiple operators.

Said to be one of the leaders in the market for carrier Wi-Fi systems used for reliable Wi-Fi public access, mobile data offload and wireless backhaul, Ruckus has worked closely with the Wi-Fi Alliance to help advance the Passpoint program.

"Support for Passpoint within mobile devices and infrastructure is essential for making the widespread use of Wi-Fi valuable to carriers and their customers," said Steve Martin, vice president of engineering for Ruckus Wireless. "By automating and streamlining the process of connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot, service providers can look to advanced Wi-Fi systems as a viable way to offload traffic and deliver high-bandwidth services - while subscribers will no longer have to face the frustration and aggravation of connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots."

"The Wi-Fi Alliance has made significant progress in transforming and improving users' Wi-Fi experience and we are happy to see suppliers, such as this, demonstrating the benefits of all this work," said Wi-Fi Alliance marketing director Kelly Davis-Felner. "We believe this is the first step in what will be a welcomed transformation of how users and operators interact with Wi-Fi."