- The new report details how today’s Wi-Fi standards can be used to enhance commutes, travel and daily errands with reliable Wi-Fi
- WBA noted high-quality Wi-Fi services can attract more customers, increase engagement, and provide a competitive edge.
The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has released a report demonstrating how the latest Wi-Fi standards are enhancing moving networks, which they say have often been neglected.
The report, “Wi-Fi Experience for Moving Networks Report,” outlines unique challenges in Wi-Fi networks and describes use cases that demonstrate how current standards can be adapted to improve user experiences and operational efficiency.
The WBA, the global industry body dedicated to driving the seamless and interoperable service experience of Wi-Fi across the global wireless ecosystem, aims to enhance Wi-Fi connectivity in moving scenarios—buses, trains, planes, and ships—ensuring reliability for daily commutes and travel.
“The challenges of delivering reliable and secure Wi-Fi on moving networks, are greater than fixed networks,” said Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance in a statement released with the report. “This paper demonstrates how existing Wi-Fi standards can enhance these networks, engage more users and revolutionize the experience.”
Moving Networks
The traditional focus of Wi-Fi operations has been on fixed locations with reliable and guaranteed connections, such as homes or offices, according to the report. While this has meant that connected lives in these locations have been enhanced, there are Wi-Fi networks sitting outside the “fixed location bubble” being largely an afterthought if present at all—specifically networks in places like on-the-go or moving scenarios.
Moving networks are comprised of every day environments: commuting to work, traveling to see friends or family, going on holiday, or getting between meetings or appointments. Expectations dictate that Wi-Fi should be offered here too, and moving network operators have duly obliged, although due to the lack of focus from the wider industry, the experience is not as optimized as it could and should be.
“Our vision is to create a seamless and interoperable service experience of Wi-Fi across the wireless ecosystem, that spans both fixed and moving networks,” said Rodrigues.
Passpoint Emphasis
The paper emphasizes the importance of focusing on specific use cases to address challenges in different moving environments, from connecting passengers to dealing with time zone changes or maintaining engagement without backhaul.
WBA examined a multiplicity of user journey flows that contemplate multiples scenarios, from accessing local content (or not) with the venue owner profile installed, facing network disruption, and more. The association believes these scenarios are critical for ensuring passengers can be connected to the Wi-Fi, can remain connected even without backhaul connectivity and monetization, upgrade and user engagement capabilities are allowed.
The utilization of Passpoint is key to achieving all of these, according to officials. It enables a frictionless association and connection which encourages engagement and use. This is how users want to access and use Wi-Fi, cellular or any connectivity in general, and it is no different on moving networks.
“With the market adoption of technologies like Passpoint, users are now increasingly connecting seamlessly and securely onto shared public Wi-Fi networks,” said Thomas Locke, chief technology officer, GlobalReach.
Network Hopping
Deploying technologies such as WBA’s OpenRoaming is seen as addressing many of the challenges experienced by users when joining and hopping between moving networks. OpenRoaming facilitates seamless connectivity between various Wi-Fi and cellular networks via a credential, ensuring automatic authentication and the highest levels of security and data privacy.
This project, led by GlobalReach and Viasat, has tackled the technical and logistical challenges of moving networks. Solutions include:
- Dynamic Environments: Addressing inconsistent backhaul connectivity with advanced standards like Passpoint for seamless connections and combining multiple connectivity sources for enhanced stability.
- Handover Issues: Ensuring continuous service and preventing unnecessary network switching with intelligent network selection and enhanced roaming capabilities.
- Security Concerns: Bolstering network security through robust authentication methods like WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise and per-user encryption to protect data in transient environments.
- Service Continuity: Maintaining uninterrupted service with strategies like local caching and authentication to ensure connectivity without backhaul access.
- Complex Deployments: Simplifying the installation and maintenance of network equipment on moving vehicles with modular components and remote management tools.
Ed Kyte, Airline Propositions at Viasat, commented the paper continues the WBA’s focus in utilizing the latest tried and tested Wi-Fi standards to enhance the user experience.
“As Wi-Fi becomes progressively mobile and proliferates into new areas, solving problems that exist in Moving Networks is increasingly central to further develop high quality and seamless experiences,” said Kyte.
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