802.11u, Hotspot 2.0 bring roaming to Wi-Fi devices

BANGALORE, INDIA: The rapid growth of the mobile subscribers means exponential increase of data traffic.

It can strain the networks of the operators, which can in turn lead to connectivity issues. To cope with the challenge, operators are looking for ways to offload data traffic onto higher bandwidth technologies such as Wi-Fi. In fact, operators are already adopting Wi-Fi on a large scale.

According to a recent In-Stat report the number of Wi-Fi hotspots is expected to triple by 2015 with some 1.2 million venues Wi-Fi ready. Moreover, it is expected to increase from 4 billion connections in 2010 to 120 billion by 2015. 

The fact that majority of the mobile devices have Wi-Fi functionality are not only helping the operators but are also instrumental in the growth of Wi-Fi. But there is slight glitch which is proving to be a cumbersome issue for the users.

The Glitch

There might a large number of Wi-Fi networks in your vicinity, however, often your mobile device would fail to detect the W-Fi networks (SSIDs) or know if they have the proper security credential to even connect. So that makes connecting to a WiFi network not as easy as connecting to a cellular network.

To be more precise, roaming is not really a smooth functionality on Wi-Fi. Users have to manually select the network they prefer, enter their credentials and encryption keys, and then use the services. It is a cumbersome process and users are clearly not happy about it.

However, now things are going to change with the advent of 802.11u and Hotspot 2.0.

The new Wi-Fi Standard: the resolution

The quest for the new standard was largely driven by the needs of the vendors and network operators to provide seamless automatic Wi-Fi authentication, and allow mobile users to roam between the networks without additional authentication.

Hotspot 2.0 uses 802.11u as a fundamental building block to effectively automate the network discovery, registration, provisioning and access steps. 802.11u and Hotspot 2.0 enable users to automatically connect and authenticate to the best available Wi-Fi network.

It gives you an experience similar to the way cellphones work when you roam to a new location with the phone automatically determining, authentication and connecting to the best cellular network.

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Hotspots can help Operators

802.11u and HotSpot 2.0 are being acclaimed as technology that can bring in a 3G-like end user experience to Wi-Fi authentication and roaming. But 802.11u is beneficial not only for the end user; it would benefit the mobile operators too. It is imperative to understand that Wi-Fi operates in the unlicensed spectrum; hence it’s highly cost effective for the operators. 

In fact, operators across are increasingly using Wi-Fi to offload the media-rich data traffic running over on their mobile data networks. Hotspot 2.0 and 802.11u can enable operators and their subscribers use Wi-Fi in an efficient and seamless manner.

The data traffic on cellular networks has grown to an exponential level and operators are looking to offload this traffic to Wi-Fi networks. Hence Hotspot 2.0 is being looked upon as critical catalyst to accelerate the adoption of Wi-Fi as a strategic to the success of operators’ mobile data services.

The author is managing director at Ruckus Wireless India.