The strategic importance of Wi-Fi to mobile service providers – iPass OMX

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 Kevin Murray, VP, Product Marketing

Around the globe, mobile service providers are embracing Wi-Fi as an increasingly important and integrated component of their mobile network fabric, and making big announcements about building out Wi-Fi networks to seamlessly integrate them with their 3G and 4G networks. Now there’s iPass OMX.

The next wave of Wi-Fi is becoming a carrier-led phenomenon and the iPass Open Mobile Exchange enables them to capitalize on this tremendous opportunity with speed to market and a reduced cost and risk profile. With iPass Open Mobile Exchange, they can now deliver mobile IP data offload and Wi-Fi roaming services across millions of Wi-Fi hotspots around the globe in a seamless and frictionless manner.

Historically, service providers viewed Wi-Fi as an extension of their fixed broadband Internet business, not as a viable extension of their mobility business. However, with demand for mobile broadband resources so high and growing at a compound annual rate of 92%, operators who can artfully negotiate the best licensed and unlicensed spectrum strategy will deliver the greatest mobile experience at the highest profit margin attainable.

By integrating the best of both worlds, licensed and unlicensed spectrum, the iPass Open Mobile Exchange helps service providers to capitalize on the rapid growth of Wi-Fi devices. iPass has uniquely combined a ‘zero 3G-touch’ mobile data offload solution with a ‘zero-click’ Wi-Fi data roaming service, making Wi-Fi access as easy to use as cellular and functioning like data roaming, automatically connecting users to preferred networks to create an ‘always best connected’ user experience.

With iPass OMX, service providers can:

• Reduce network and signaling congestion by offloading mobile IP data traffic to operator-preferred Wi-Fi networks, including free Wi-Fi.
• Expand your portfolio to include Wi-Fi-only handsets and grow the number of devices connected to your network, increasing addressable market size and revenue potential.
• Simplify the end-user connectivity experience with zero-click, seamless device or user-based authentication.
• Add new serving areas through Wi-Fi to broaden your geographic reach.
• Increase customer loyalty by making data roaming more cost-effective and deepening vital relationships with end-users on a global scale.
• Monetize your Wi-Fi network assets to other service providers.

The end result is a highly differentiated consumer offering that delivers a more satisfying user connectivity experience while maximizing your network infrastructure investment.

Our iPass Open Mobile Exchange web page will give you more details and videos about the solution. You can also read our press release.

Tags: 3G network, 4G network, carriers, mobile network, smartphone, wi-fi access