The Cloud, which runs Europe's largest network of Wi-Fi
hotspots, will allow users to authenticate a Wi-Fi connection via a
mobile phone Sim card in what analysts say is a significant step
towards unifying Wi-Fi, 3G, GPRS and other data
networks.
Transat Technologies' gear will let a hotspot authenticate
someone with the same system as GSM, making it simple to offer
integrated services and billing, The Cloud claimed.
The company does not sell Wi-Fi services directly, but to
network operators including BT Openzone, Boingo Wireless, Orange
and KPN. Users will see the hotspot as belonging to their
particular service provider.
Sim authentication is considered by many to be the next step in
presenting unified, seamless wireless data services. Previously,
The Cloud allowed operators to combine Wi-Fi and mobile phone
bills, but users needed to log on manually to each hotspot, and
back-end billing systems required integration with The Cloud.
A laptop or PDA connects to the wireless network the same way a
mobile phone connects to a GSM network, which means companies can
add Wi-Fi to their service without the need for any new technology
or expertise. The tie-in is likely to make such bundled offerings
far more commonplace.
To operators, "the wireless Lan network appears just like
another GSM network", said The Cloud chief technology officer Niall
Murphy.
"It is just like a roaming deal. It removes a significant amount
of special development work that mobile developers otherwise have
to do to add Wlan to their product mix."
Enabling Transat's TransLok system across The Cloud's network
involved installing a few back-end boxes, Murphy said. "We do that
centrally, and Sim authentication is available anywhere on our
network. It is scalable," he said. Because the system is based on
mobile phone industry standards, The Cloud and its customers are
not tied to any other Transat technology.
Sim authentication is more secure because it is based on a piece
of hardware - the Sim card - rather than a password, which could be
lost, copied or given to a friend, Murphy said. The system is
enabled now, and is available to The Cloud customers such as Orange
Israel and Orange Switzerland which have chosen to offer Sim
authentication.
Previous systems for tying mobile phone and Wi-Fi accounts have
involved relatively clunky techniques. The customer might use his
mobile phone number as a username, and is then be sent a password
via text message; this is then manually typed in. This type of
authentication can be automated by attaching a Sim card directly to
the computer via a PC card or dongle-based reader, but it still
requires operators to set up a new system for Wi-Fi users.
The Cloud is by far the largest European Wi-Fi network with more
than 3,500 UK hotspots in pubs, hotels, bus stations, train
stations, cafes, boat marinas and the Bristol Airport.
A deal struck last autumn with New World Payphones will add
Wi-Fi hotspots to 7,000 sites, largely indoor locations such as
shopping centres.
Most service providers selling directly to the public do not own
large numbers of Wi-Fi hotspots themselves, instead relying on
roaming agreements with third-parties such as The Cloud. T-Mobile,
for example, gives its users access to thousands of hotspots, but
only operates a few hundred itself.
Matthew Broersma writes for
Techworld.com