The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has completed a proof-of-concept trial to onboard wifi client devices automatically to a residential Wifi 6 network, paving the way for the rollout of WBA OpenRoaming across in-home wifi and wide-area wireless broadband networks.

The trial, which was carried out by Turkish smart wifi provider Airties, was carried out in two phases. The first, which covered OpenRoaming settlement-free access, was carried out using Google Pixel 2 and Samsung Galaxy S21 devices. Once the functionality had been enabled on these devices, they were able to connect automatically to the residential guest network using the Google and Samsung account IDs of their owners, instead of having to enter credentials manually.

The second phase demonstrated seamless access to the same residential wifi network by using a third-party Single Digits ID after first downloading and installing a wifi profile on the aforementioned mobile phones. As part of the trial, Airties closely monitored and optimised the quality of experience to ensure the best device performance for users.

Blaz Vavpetic, CTO of Single Digits, said: “Our collaboration with Airties demonstrates Single Digits’ role as an OpenRoaming broker and is part of an ongoing effort to quantify quality of experience for our carrier off-load and venue partners, giving them confidence in their subscriber’s connected experience to Passpoint networks.”

The success of this trial means operators will now be able to ensure their subscribers can access the internet seamlessly and securely, without having to enter and re-enter login credentials, bridging the gap between cellular and wifi while maintaining full control of privacy. A key differentiator for the OpenRoaming standard is that it is not impacted by mac address rotation within user devices.

“Our successful completion of this trial with WBA OpenRoaming is a major step forward for frictionless residential wifi access,” said Metin Taskin, CTO of Airties. “For cellular service providers, it will facilitate more seamless and secure mobile offloading, aimed at reducing their network costs and enhancing internet coverage for their subscribers. For consumers, it removes the hassle of entering login credentials as their devices roam securely between cellular and wifi networks.”

The trial took place in France and Turkey, and involved connecting Airties’ Air 4960 APs and cloud proxy servers to the OpenRoaming network. Airties’ collaboration with WBA relied on Airties’ edge software and cloud to measure and report on the connected devices, ensuring the quality was not adversely impacted as the frictionless handover between cellular and OpenRoaming access points was achieved.

“WBA OpenRoaming is driving seamless wifi roaming and the convergence of Wifi 6 and 5G,” said Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of WBA. “We’re beginning to see entire market segments open themselves up to the possibilities that lie ahead due to WBA OpenRoaming. Thanks to Airties, these trials have proved another important piece of the importance of OpenRoaming for residential market and bring us one step closer to bridging the gap between wifi and cellular for a truly connected world.”

Founded in 2003, the WBA aims to drive seamless, interoperable service experiences via wifi within the global wireless ecosystem. Its mission is to enable collaboration between service providers, technology companies, cities, regulators and organisations. Membership is comprised of operators, identity providers and technology companies.

The alliance undertakes programmes and activities to address business and technical issues, as well as opportunities for member companies. Work areas include standards development, industry guidelines, trials, certification and advocacy. Its key programmes include wifi, OpenRoaming, 5G, IoT, testing and interoperability, and policy and regulatory affairs, with member-led work groups dedicated to resolving standards and technical issues to promote end-to-end services and accelerate business opportunities.

Airties provides managed wifi to operators around the globe. Through its smart wifi portfolio, the company offers edge software, a cloud-based management platform and wifi mesh extenders. Customers include Altice USA, AT&T, Singtel, Sky, Telia and Telstra.