Bring Your Own Network – Wi-Fi for corporate end-users
Tuesday, September 18th, 2012 Chris Churilo, VP Product Management & User Experience
Those who bring their own device from work have quickly gone from the minority to the majority, and the benefits are countless. Yet modern smartphones are rendered almost useless without an Internet connection, and 3G can get pricy quickly. Wi-Fi has gone from being an extra perk to a necessity. I know how shocking it has been when I’ve traveled abroad for work and forgotten to turn my data usage off and returned home only to find a hefty bill waiting there for me.
This is why I’d like to introduce BYOD’s new counterpart— BYON – “Bring Your Own Network.” If you already are bringing your own device to work, why not bring your own network? At iPass, we’ve just announced a new IT-Sponsored billing option that does just that – allows the individual business user to add the iPass service to their personal device that they use for work.
IT negotiates the rate, configures the client options and helps to manage the service. The end-user signs up for the service with their credit card, gets the same great service that they received on their corporate managed devices all at their low corporate rate.
Traveling for work can be rough; going from airport to airport, trying to fit a week’s worth of business casual in a small carry-on, inevitably forgetting a smartphone charger or pair of socks at home. Working while traveling shouldn’t be difficult or expensive, but it is when you don’t know when you’ll be able to access the Internet next.
If you BYON, you can relax knowing that you can use your Wi-Fi at any of our thousands of hotspots, look up the hotspot locations in advance using our Hotspot Finder, and use that money you just saved to buy an extra pair of socks or belt when on the road.
Tags: mobile workforce, Open Mobile Express, Open Mobile Platform, roaming, wi-fi access
