Friday, February 24, 2012

A Wi-Fi Renaissance

Total Telecom reported today that Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) predicted that seamless WiFi offloading solutions will begin deployment within the next 12 months.

"The complementary relationship between WiFi and mobile networks is finally becoming a reality," said WBA’s Chairman Chris Bruce.

With Kineto’s software, it’s been a reality for some time. For years, we’ve been focused on the opportunity for mobile operators who recognize the benefits of Wi-Fi for offload and coverage.

Reporter Lewis Dowling mentioned T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi Calling service based on our Smart Wi-Fi technology as an example of an operator solutions that successfully use Wi-Fi. He also mentioned steps Cisco, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent are taking to enable this operator shift.

Bruce added: "Fixed and mobile operators alike are leading a WiFi hotspot renaissance in a renewed effort to sate the seemingly unquenchable desire for ubiquitous broadband connectivity.”

The smartphone deluge has been going on for years already and is only growing. Operators need to try to get out in front of it. With Wi-Fi, they can.

1 comment:

CloudNineMedia said...

Great post. I wonder what this means for captive portals. There seems to be a mismatch between the goals of the carrier (4G offload), the goals of the user (seamless connectivity and reduced overages), and the goals of the network owner. The network owner will see WiFi as an increasingly important part of their marketing and CRM mix but only if the captive portal is not killed by Hotspot 2.0 and offload efforts. @CloudNineMedia