Mobile to Wi-Fi roaming: focus on the user
Monday, March 26th, 2012 Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor
I wanted to share this article in which Marcio Avillez, Vice President of Network Services, gives clarity to the current industry discussion on Wi-Fi roaming. As the article title says, there are many opportunities and challenges, however, our work with the GSMA and WBA Alliance is geared towards solving these issues.
Mobile to WiFi roaming – threats and opportunities (Mobile Europe)
With so many devices now emerging with embedded Wi-Fi and the proliferation of apps and video, consumers have been underserved. The GSMA/WBAlliance announcement on their roaming initiative provides an easier, more secure experience for the end user.
“As for how mobile operators will benefit, [members] agree that the core initial use case will be for domestic data offload – attaching mobile users automatically to available WiFi networks with any billing or charging aspects taken care of in the background.”
Marcio also added: “The challenge on the mobile operator side is how to take that technology solution and take it to market. A lot has been written about taking the friction out of WiFi authentication but, of course, sometimes having friction is a good thing. I think operators need to be able to provide the seamless experience where it makes sense – as in domestic data offload – but there are use cases where you would want to make the user more aware of what’s going on.”
The article continues: “That includes international roaming, of course, but also a use case such as where a customer has a WiFi subscription as part of his fixed line home broadband deal, but also has a separate contract with a mobile operator who may be attaching the subscriber automatically to its preferred networks. Does the user, the fixed line provider, or the mobile operator decide which networks to attach to, and when? Or do the fixed line and mobile provider take care of that in a separate commercial relationship.”
For more details on what needs to be done, read the article.
Read the recent GSMA/WBAlliance press release: GSMA And WBA Collaborate to Simplify Wi-fi Hotspot Access for Smartphones and Tablets
Tags: 3G network, 4G network, carriers, roaming, Wi-Fi, wi-fi access
