Cisco hands responsibility for developing and promoting OpenRoaming to the Alliance as a neutral, global standard.
The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) now owns and manages OpenRoaming to facilitate its broad adoption by new and existing Wi-Fi Networks, identity and service providers, and other technology partners across the global Wi-Fi ecosystem.
OpenRoaming is a tech developed by Cisco to enable seamless Wi-Fi onboarding and built on a standards and guidelines developed by the WBA and Wi-Fi Alliance, including Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint and Wireless Roaming Intermediary Exchange (WRIX) standards.
Bridging the gap
It helps bridge the gap between Wi-Fi and cellular networks and allows users to seamlessly and securely roam between Wi-Fi networks without the interruption of splash pages or sign-in screens.
According to WBA, OpenRoaming has seen tremendous growth in the past year and is expected to play a crucial role in delivering “great mobile experiences and ushering in a new era of mobile applications”.
WBA, Tiago Rodrigues, CEO, WBA, said, “OpenRoaming now becomes an open standard, creating a world where Wi-Fi users will be able to move seamlessly from one Wi-Fi network to another without re-registering or signing in.
“As a global wireless industry standard, WBA OpenRoaming will improve Wi-Fi services and availability, making life easier for users, and more efficient for the global mobile and Wi-Fi ecosystem.
“OpenRoaming is now open for business and I call on anyone with a Wi-Fi network, private or public, coffee shop or sports stadia or any other type of venue, to join our open ecosystem in order for the service they offer to their users to be automatic, secure, and interoperable, making their networks available to a wider audience.”
Trusted identity providers
OpenRoaming brings together a federation of trusted identity providers, allowing users to join any network managed by any federation member. The network can automatically authenticate devices by using established identity providers, such as a service provider, device manufacturer, cloud ID, or even loyalty memberships.
Industry leaders including Boingo Wireless, Cisco, GlobalReach Technology, Intel, Korea Telekom and others have pledged support for OpenRoaming.
“There is considerable pull from the industry and our customers, both enterprise and service provider, to automate secure onboarding across multiple verticals. We knew OpenRoaming would be a game-changing wireless technology, but the support from across the industry has even surpassed our expectations. OpenRoaming is vital to unlocking the potential of wireless communications,” said Matt MacPherson, Wireless CTO, Cisco.