WiFi hotspots are going to be better, secure and friendlier for the
mobile users with the announcement of new certification program by
WiFi Alliance. The new program is slated to launch in first half of
the next year, 2012, aiming at simpler and more standardized way to
discover, subscribe and securely connect to various hotspots. Apart
from benefiting the mobile users, the certified hotspots will also
provide mobile carriers, an easy, reliable and robust way to
offload data services from their cellular network (3G/4G)
infrastructure.
Although, few carriers such as AT&T are already using WiFi
hotspots infrastructure to provide better/additional services to
customers and unload their overload cellular networks, there are
limitations while using existing WiFi hotspots, such as no WiFi
security (open WiFi) for the hotspot user and potential user
intervention (such as filling up necessary information on a web
portal) for Internet access, after connecting to the hotspot.
However, with newer WiFi alliance certified hotspots, most of these
existing limitations will be taken care of along with the
introduction of newer facilities.
The broad goals of the new hotspot program include:
- Automatically discovery of hotspot networks based on user
preferences, operator policies or network optimization.
- Streamlined network access via existing cellular authentication
mechanisms such as SIM cards.
- Automatic and common user account provisioning at the point of
access.
- Use of latest-generation WPA2 security to encrypt the WiFi
connection with the hotspot.
All these goals will bring about cellular like experience to the
hotspot users in terms of network discovery, authentication,
account provisioning, security and roaming. This means more and
more carriers will now think in direction of establishing or using
a public WiFi hotspot infrastructure base, to complement their
existing cellular infrastructure, in order to provide better
mobility experience to their customers, with reliable and faster
wireless speeds of WiFi technology, and additionally unload their
core 3G/4G cellular network.
With more and more people using bandwidth consuming applications
and carrying high end smart cellular devices such as smartphones
and tablets on the move, bandwidth demand from the limited capacity
cellular infrastructure is certainly going to increase multifold.
Some cellular service providers in various countries are already
facing this challenge of bandwidth crisis. In light of this, the
new certified hotspots can come to the rescue of mobile carriers by
helping them to offload the overburden of data services from core
network to a hotspot network, whenever a customer will come in
range of later, the offload being transparent to user without any
inconveniences.
However, the authentication mechanism being based on existing
cellular method of requiring SIM cards, users will be unable to get
services of the certified hotspot on their laptops/netbooks unless
these have embedded cellular capability or users additionally use
3G dongles, etc with the laptops/netbooks. This brings a slight
limitation, but the same will be insignificant in view of
streamlined authentication procedure and the availability of high
end cellular devices, which people are increasingly adopting (in
place of bulky laptops/netbooks) to fulfill their most of their
mobility needs while on the move.
One significant measure, to be noticed, in the newly announced
hotspot program is the use of robust and latest WiFi security
technology, WPA2, for encrypting the WiFi traffic between the
hotspot and its connected users. At present, public WiFi hotspots
are usually left open (no security) to avoid the hassles of
security configuration in view of dynamic user group of a hotspot,
nor there is any standardization to guarantee robust and automatic
WiFi security to every hotspot user. Use of open WiFi connections
makes hotspots user susceptible to variety of easily launched
attacks, such as Eavesdropping and Man-In-The-Middle which can
result in exploitation of the user’s device for a variety of
purposes by the attacker. But, a user, when connected to a hotspot,
certified by WiFi alliance, need not worry any more of such
attacks, while surfing the Internet.
All in all, the new certification program looks very promising
as it will empower the mobile carriers around the world, to harness
the power of ever-growing WiFi technology to complement their
cellular network in expanding the business, along with the
assurance of better mobility experience for every customer.
- Ajay Kumar Gupta is an expert in the field of wireless
security