Deutsche Tel partnership boosts Wi-Fi roaming

Deutsche Telekom claims to be tackling bill shock through a new partnership designed to deliver a consistent Wi-Fi roaming experience.
 
The telco has teamed with iPass to offer Wi-Fi Mobilize, a network services exchange based on iPass technology that it says represents the next step in the development of seamless services.
 
“Wi-Fi has re-emerged as an essential service for network access,” explains Michael Wilkens, senior vice president of Deutsche Tel’s international business unit. “Through this partnership, we are in a unique position to provide an industry platform an enable a marketplace in the carrier’s world for the global exchange of Wi-Fi traffic and inter-standard roaming.”
 
The platform will handle authentication and settlement, and offer reports to help improve customer service. It also offers value added services that can slot straight into current Wi-Fi and cellular networks, and offer access to a global network of 500,000 Wi-Fi hotspots currently served by iPass.
 
iPass chief Evan Kaplan says the service will remove the “excessive burden” current complex standards place on end-users, and meet a demand for always-on access created by data moving to the Cloud.
 
Kaplan explained to ZDNet the deal offers it a scale it would not be able to achieve alone, by opening the door to Deutsche Tel’s carrier wholesale agreements.