Gemalto, a global specialist in digital security, today announced that it has entered into a Technology Collaboration Agreement with iPass, a provider of enterprise mobility services. The collaboration expands the benefits of the Gemalto Roaming Director, and provides mobile operators with a customised global Wi-Fi roaming solution.
Gemalto’s Roaming Director is a service solution that enables mobile operators to dynamically connect subscribers to their preferred 2G and 3G roaming partners. By adding the global Wi-Fi roaming capability to Roaming Director, mobile operators will go to market more quickly with a comprehensive mobility offering that provides their roaming subscribers with greater choices of network connectivity.
The Gemalto-iPass collaboration enables mobile subscribers traveling abroad to seamlessly access Wi-Fi from their handset in one click, without the need to enter additional credentials or buy a voucher. By utilising the iPass Open Mobile client for smartphones, subscribers can access over 260,000 hotspots. The new service is charged to the user on their mobile phone bill.
“With the increasing use of mobile Internet devices and Wi-Fi being so pervasive, consumers are demanding more mobile connectivity,” commented Jean-François Schreiber, senior vice president Gemalto. “The combined roaming offering from Gemalto and iPass provides mobile users with simple and convenient Wi-Fi access when travelling abroad. It also enables mobile operators to better target different customer segments.”
“iPass has built the world’s largest commercial Wi-Fi network,” added Rod Brewster, vice president of business development and alliances at iPass. “Our collaboration with Gemalto will provide mobile operators with a cost effective implementation of a proven and secure alternative for network connectivity. Additionally, mobile roaming subscribers will have the flexibility to access high bandwidth applications at faster speeds and at lower costs.”