Archive for the ‘Network’ Category
Monday, November 12th, 2012
Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
Last week, Eric Lai on ZDNet wrote about the follow-on trends to BYOD, called BYON, or Bring-Your-Own-Network, in his article: ‘Bring Your Own Network’: More Security Risks Than BYOD?
“BYON describes how the number and variety of networks and cloud services accessed by mobile workers, often at the same time, is exploding, just as the number and variety of mobile devices carried by employees exploded as the result of BYOD.” As more mobile workers contract with Wi-Fi access vendors (such as iPass, or Boingo), they bring that network along with home networks into the mix. And accessing corporate data and networks from these points.
Chris Witeck, senior director of product marketing at iPass, said there are many steps you can take to make sure devices aren’t vulnerable. “You can protect them by making sure you don’t allow any unauthorized access. Then, the chance of getting access to data becomes slim to none.”
As IT looks for ways to manage this trend, fueled by the Bring-Your-Own-Device trend, companies will continue to bring out more solutions to manage devices, access and data.
The article also noted how iPass defines BYON as “the business traveler wanting to stay connected: “When remote or traveling workers “bring” wireless Internet access with them through a global Wi-Fi network such as iPass and its 150,000 hotspots, rather than rely on free Wi-Fi hotspots or potentially-flaky cellular coverage.”
Read the full article >>
Get the BYON whitepaper >>
BYON – Bring Your Own Network gets a closer look >>
Friday, September 28th, 2012
Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
During your travels recently, have you tried to find an iPass hotspot?
Let us know a venue that you would like added to the iPass Mobile Network! We often hear from customers (and employees) about hotels, cafes and other places in which is would be GREAT to have an iPass hotspot for easier access to Wi-Fi. Even if it’s a free hotspot, being iPass-enabled should get you online faster (no Terms and Conditions to scroll through) and more securely.
Does your favorite hotel, cafe, waiting room, conference center need to be added? Let us know with our Suggest a Hotspot form.
Suggest a hotspot >>
Look for an iPass hotspot on your laptop >>
Look for an iPass hotspot on your smartphone/tablet >>
Suggest a hotspot for iPass >>
Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
Zoe Paknad, Program Mgr
It seems that I have finally hit some of the biggest obstacles in my challenge to use only Wi-Fi and eliminate cellular data usage for a week.
As 
usual, I left my home in the morning in a hurry, with the overwhelming feeling that I was forgetting something. I hopped in my car and got on the freeway, and about halfway to work, realized what I had forgotten—my gas tank was completely empty. No matter, I thought, I’ll just find the nearest gas station.
At best, I have a general understanding of the area between where I live and where I work. I am limited to recognizing the buildings that I pass on the freeway each day. So I pulled off the freeway and did what any Silicon Valley girl would do: I “googled” the phrase “nearest gas station”, and waited for Google to pull up an interactive map that would drop a pin on my location and the locations of the nearest gas stations. Alas, Google could not process my request. My empty gas tank wasn’t the only thing I’d forgotten about this morning– I had also forgotten my Wi-Fi diet.
Without internet connection, I was forced to do something that many people of my generation have never had to do—drive around and physically look for a location as opposed to mapping it on my phone. Blaming my poor directional skills on my lack of modern technology, I accepted defeat and decided that I’d risk it and try and make it to work, where I’d use the Wi-Fi to locate a gas station on my map in advance and stop by it on the way home.
This story in the larger scheme of things is strikingly unimportant. We can live without our phones. If I had searched for a gas station for ten more minutes, I almost certainly would have been able to find one. It’s not a question of whether or not Chris and I can survive this Wi-Fi diet, but more a battle of willpower. It was easier and faster for me to search for a gas station on my phone and have my GPS direct me there, than it was to just look. Being constantly connected via my phone doesn’t just enable me to be lazy; it validates my laziness.
Unlike a real crash diet or trendy juice cleanse, I think I actually stand a chance on the Wi-Fi diet. Sure. I am addicted to having a constant connection (Don’t believe me? Check out the picture of my usage meter from yesterday, July 10th. I had such a craving for data that I used more Wi-Fi than my past Wi-Fi and cellular usage combined, coming in at almost 80 Megabytes in one day, my personal record. To put that in perspective, if I had been traveling and had used that much cellular data under my current plan, it’d have run me about $1,600 for one day of usage).
I am always on my phone, involved in social media and checking email. But I have so many advantages with the Wi-Fi diet that I have no reason not to succeed. I am lucky enough to have strong Wi-Fi both at home and at work, and of course, I am running the iPass Open Mobile Client on my phone.
Can I complete my Wi-Fi diet and finish out the week using only Wi-Fi? I think so. But between you and me, I can’t wait until Friday after work when I can turn my phone off Airplane Mode and bask in my constant connection.
Wi-Fi Diet Day 2: Not finding a gas station >>
Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
Annie Livingston, Marketing
Are you heading to London this July/August along with thousands of people worldwide? If you answered yes, you have come to the right place!
We’ve located some convenient hotspots near popular sports venues to get you connected in between watching the games (or in between meetings). Be sure to watch your favorite sports, but also take in various areas of London, such as the City of London, the medieval core, the City of Westminster (and city-wide Wi-Fi) or Stratford, the site of a new, major sporting complex and housing area.
More so, we have partnered with The Cloud and BT Wi-fi to create our Top 10 Favorite Hotspots for you located in restaurants, hotels, or just outdoor Wi-Fi connected areas; don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.
The O2 Arena, one sporting venue, is not only open late, but did you know that you could fill it with 3.8 billion pints of beer or the contents of 1100 olympic-sized swimming pools?
Lisson Grove has the Sherlock Holmes Museum and the Lord’s Cricket Ground, which will surely be busy with spectators this summer.
Make sure to head to our Google Map with the Top 10 Wi-Fi Hotspots for more.
And before you go, plan your Wi-Fi ahead of time with our Hotspot Finder.
Top 10 Wi-Fi Hotspots for summer action in London >>
Tuesday, June 19th, 2012
Annie Livingston, Marketing
On Tuesday, June 12, 2012, Steve Livingston, SVP Carrier Development, iPass, spoke at the Mobile Data Offloading conference in London. The conference was designed to address the exponential growth of data usage, and how enterprises and consumers are dealing with this quick advancement in technology. The conference also discussed the prerequisites as well as challenges people are dealing with in regards to the data offloading technology.
Livingston began his presentation introducing iPass, and explained that although the company has over 1.8 million individual users and 140 Wi-Fi networks all over the world, the number of partners iPass has is growing rapidly.
Continuing with his presentation, Livingston discussed Wi-Fi, and how it is impossible to avoid. Listing various statistics, Livingston claimed that 70% of smartphone data is originated in Wi-Fi, and 65% of tablet users are connecting to mobile networks via Wi-Fi exclusively. Livingston discussed the exponential growth rate of Wi-Fi hotspots, and predicted that in 2015, there will be 5.8 million public hotspots worldwide.
With the fast expansion of Wi-Fi came the fast expansion of iPass, and the company’s network growth has more than tripled in the past year. Because International Wi-Fi roaming is inevitable for the business traveler, Livingston explained the opportunities iPass provides for the consumer. iPass caters international Wi-Fi for a significantly lower cost, and allows the consumer to act as they do at home.
In his closing remarks, Livingston explained the benefits of iPass, and its goals for the future, including the expansion of customers, both individuals as well as enterprises.
Mobile Data Offloading Conference >>
