Telecom Lead @ CTIA Wireless 2012: Ruckus Wireless will
release a new technology that revolutionizes connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots.
In June 2012, the new technology will be released as the
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint certification program from the Wi-Fi Alliance.
This new technology will be demonstrated by Ruckus at
CTIA Wireless show.
Leveraging Passpoint-certified devices, the process of
selecting a network will be automated. Passpoint-certified mobile devices
automatically select a Wi-Fi hotspot based on information advertised by
Passpoint-certified Wi-Fi access points.
Recently, Informa Telecoms and Media said the number of
hotspots is expected to more than double from 2.1 million in 2012 to over 5.8
million by 2015.
According to Mobia, nearly 70 percent of
smartphone-originated data traffic in January 2012 was over Wi-Fi, compared to
30 percent over cellular technology.
Support for 802.11u and the technology tested by the
Wi-Fi Alliance’s Passpoint certification program will be available as a no-cost
software upgrade on Ruckus ZoneFlex access points by the end of this year.
Many mobile device manufacturers and infrastructure
suppliers, including Ruckus Wireless, are implementing these new Wi-Fi
capabilities within their equipment and have participated in trials under the
Wireless Broadband Alliance’s Next Generation Hotpots (NGH) initiative.
The use of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint equipment will
benefit service providers in a number of ways such as accelerating the offload
of data from cellular networks to Wi-Fi and reducing operational costs by
providing a single Wi-Fi network that can advertise support for multiple
operators.
“Support for Passpoint within mobile devices and
infrastructure is essential for making the widespread use of Wi-Fi valuable to
carriers and their customers,” said Steve Martin, vice president of
engineering for Ruckus Wireless.
“The Wi-Fi Alliance has made significant progress in
transforming and improving users’ Wi-Fi experience, and we are happy to see
suppliers, such as Ruckus Wireless, demonstrating the benefits of all this
work,” said Wi-Fi Alliance Marketing Director Kelly Davis-Felner.
