[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #280: Wi-Fi may be getting Passpoint

Wed May 2 10:39:10 EDT 2012

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #280: Wi-Fi may be getting Passpoint
May 2nd, 2012

<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Wi-Fi-Alliance-logo.png>The 
continuing explosive growth in the amount of data being transmitted to 
and from mobile devices is causing headaches for wireless carriers. One 
option for dealing with this demand is to offload as much data as 
possible onto Wi-Fi access points, which are more efficient than 
connecting devices through 3G, 4G, LTE, or other cell phone 
technologies. This year, the Wi-Fi Alliance is working to develop a 
standard called Passpoint that would let mobile devices connect 
automatically to Wi-Fi hotspots, possibly including hotspots in public 
libraries, just as they now automatically connect to cell phone towers. 
How this would work is not exactly clear yet - would carriers pay 
libraries for handling some of their customer traffic, for instance? - 
but it's a development that certainly bears watching.

    * How Passpoint could make Wi-Fi hotspots more like cellular data
      services
      <http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/030512-passpoint-256908.html>
      (Network World/Brad Reed) "Known as the Wi-Fi Certified Passpoint
      program, the initiative essentially creates a database of Wi-Fi
      hotspots and allows you to access any in your area that take part
      in the program. What's more, any hotspots that take part in
      Passpoint will allow you to connect without entering in any login
      or billing information since the program supports Subscriber
      Identity Module (SIM)-based authentication that cellular networks
      currently use to grant users seamless handoffs between cell sites."
    * Wi-Fi Passpoint standard could end hotspot sign-on hassles
      <http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224469/Wi_Fi_Passpoint_standard_could_end_hotspot_sign_on_hassles>
      (Computerworld/Stephen Lawson) "The most obvious advantage of the
      Passpoint standard may be doing away with the browser 'splash
      screens' that greet visitors to most public hotspots. Instead,
      admission to the network will happen in the background, through a
      variety of mechanisms that can include an SIM (Subscriber Identity
      Module) card and certificate-based methods."
    * Passpoint: a recipe for wider Wi-Fi
      <http://blog.ce.org/index.php/2012/04/10/passpoint-a-recipe-for-wider-wi-fi/>
      (CEA Digital Dialogue/Rob Pegoraro) "There's a precedent for this:
      over the past few years, AT&T has been shifting a steadily
      increasing amount of data to Wi-Fi
      <http://gigaom.com/2009/08/20/with-iphone-wi-fi-use-grows-on-att-networks/>,
      thanks to the ability of iOS and Android devices to switch
      automatically to its hotspots whenever one's in range. But that is
      a single-company effort. Passpoint/Hotspot 2.0 would widen the
      scope of participating access points - and it shouldn't cost you
      extra."
    * With new standard, Wi-Fi could become as widespread as cellular
      <http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-02/wi-fi-could-become-widespread-cellular>
      (Popular Science/Stewart Wolpin) "In a Passpoint and Super
      [long-range] Wi-Fi world, a user within a short drive of a city or
      town could have instant, ultrafast Internet access without having
      to rely on cellular service. Business travelers could use their
      laptops without cellular USB dongles, tablets wouldn't need
      power-hungry 3G and 4G radios, and a Skype account could
      practically replace a phone line."

*/Traffic fact:/*

According to a recent study 
<http://www.informatandm.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Mobidia_final.pdf> 
[pdf] by Informa Telecoms & Media, over 80% of smartphone data traffic 
in Britain already uses Wi-Fi instead of the cellular networks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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