Blog posts – Carrier Wi-Fi

A pragmatic approach to Wi-Fi Alliance Passpoint

A Pragmatic Approach to Passpoint

October 6, 2022/in Carrier Wi-Fi /by Johan Terve

This is an excerpt from our white paper Wi-Fi in the 5G Era – Strategy Guide for Operators. The full white paper is available here if you like what you read. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

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In our previous post about Secure and Seamless Carrier Wi-Fi Services with Passpoint, we explained the differences between the Wi-Fi Alliance Passpoint® versions (R1-R3) and the challenge at this point in time with sufficient device support for the latest releases, Passpoint R2 and R3. In this post, we will discuss how it is possible to overcome these challenges by taking a pragmatic approach to Passpoint, using the least common denominator Passpoint R1 and the Captive Portal API.

At Enea, we strongly believe that standards drive down costs and improve the user experience. But, it is not enough if we in the telecom industry are ready for Passpoint R2 and R3, if the devices aren’t. It takes two to tango.

IETF Captive Portal API

The Captive Portal API

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Captive Portal API (RFC8908 and RFC8910), introduced in September 2020, is a game-changer.

The Captive Portal API does not only improve the user experience in connection with traditional Captive Portal implementations. We believe that the Captive Portal API – in combination with Passpoint R1 – has the potential to deliver much of the user experience that Passpoint R2 and R3 were designed to accomplish.

The adoption of Captive Portal API among handset manufacturers has also been fast. Google was first to support the Captive Portal API for Android 11, and Apple soon followed with support in iOS14 and macOS Big Sur. With a critical mass of supporting devices, adoption across all the major operating systems appears imminent.

The Captive Portal API gives service management platforms, such as the Aptilo Service Management Platform™ (SMP), greater control of the Captive Portal flows for traditional hotspots. As a result, users will experience a more reliable service than ever before.

The overall user experience will also benefit hugely from the Captive Portal API. We have traditionally designed Access Gateways to intercept the user web request and redirect it to a Captive Portal. With the Captive Portal API, the gateway does not need to intercept such requests. Instead, when users join the Wi-Fi network and receive an IP address via DHCP (or Router Advertisement in IPv6), the DHCP server also provides the URL to the Captive Portal API. This will trigger the device to query the API to determine whether it is in captive mode, which is the state of captivity when device does not have access to internet. If the device is in the captive mode, it will open the captive portal for the user to perform login or sign-up. Devices that support the Captive Network Assistant (CNA) browser will open the captive portal on the CNA browser. If the API says the device is not in captive mode, the device will proceed directly to the Internet.

It takes time for new standards to be natively implemented in every device, so there might be some details in the Captive Portal API that still needs to be implemented for some devices. However, the standardized interaction between the device and the captive portal, as defined in the Captive Portal API, is always there to help devices determine their state and auxiliary information, such as the remaining session time or data. This allows the device to take action before it reaches the time or data limits, allowing the user to extend the session in a controlled way. This provides a smoother interaction between the device and the Wi-Fi service management system. Previously, with the guesswork of device-only captive portal detection and system-only control, the device was unaware of what was happening after authentication. This could cause sessions that appear to freeze after the session time or data has run out.

VENUE INFO URL

Captive Portal API Venue URL

Another benefit of the Captive Portal API is that it can also provide a Venue Info URL. This excellent feature allows service providers to empower their B2B customers to engage with users locally with information and offers. In current implementations, the user receives the link to the Venue Info URL via an on-screen system message appearing as a text alert available during the session. The message remains on their lock screen and in their message history. This makes it easy to go back to the Venue Info URL, as the message history is typically just a swipe away.

The Venue Info URL will appear when the user connects manually by selecting an open SSID or automatically through a secure Passpoint-enabled network. It will also offer otherwise anonymous Network Providers a way to show local information and customized advertising to users that connect through, for instance, OpenRoaming or Orion WiFi, described later in this paper.

To offer the user a portal experience like this on a secure SSID is something new to ensure venue owners can engage with users. This is crucial for making secure Wi-Fi the norm rather than the prevalent open SSID.

A PRAGMATIC APPROACH BUILDING FROM PASSPOINT R1

Use Passpoint R1 before a critical mass of R2 and R3 capable devices The fact that the Captive Portal API also works on secure Passpoint-enabled networks (802.1x) and that the concept of the Venue Info URL has many similarities with the Venue URL specified in Passpoint R3, opens up new possibilities.

We believe that the Captive Portal API, in combination with Passpoint R1, can deliver much of the user experience that Passpoint R2 and R3 were designed to accomplish.

It would make no sense to build special signup flows for the few devices that support an end-to-end Wi-Fi service based on Passpoint R2/R3. Why not use the R1 support as the least common denominator?

Devices that have not yet been provisioned for Passpoint R1 by other means, such as through a SIM profile (EAP-SIM/AKA) or App (EAP-TLS/TTLS), have to be provisioned ad-hoc through a sign-up portal over an open SSID or in advance via another connection.

The user will then download and install the Passpoint profile on their device. For Android phones, it is as easy as a click on a link and confirm installation, whereas users of other devices, such as iPhones, may need support from device-specific instructions at the portal before download. Once the Passpoint profile is installed, we will restart the Wi-Fi connection. When the device re-connects, it will be logged in to the secure SSID (802.1x) stated in the Passpoint profile. The Captive Portal API can then be used for approval of terms and conditions for new users or existing users if there is a need for an update. The Venue Info URL can also optionally be used to display venue-specific information and promotions.

ADD PASSPOINT R2-R3 LATER

Later when there is a critical mass of Passpoint R1 and R2 enabled devices

A pragmatic approach to Passpoint. Start with Passpoint R1 and then add support for R2 and R3 when there is a critical mass device support.
Utilize the Captive Portal API to fill the gaps in functionality.

Support for Passpoint R2/R3 can be added later when a critical mass of device support has been achieved.

Note that we have moved the approval of terms and conditions from the sign-up page to the first connection on the Passpoint-enabled network. This means that the process can also be used for already provisioned devices and devices with Passpoint R2 support, as well as the large volume of devices that only support R1. Users of Passpoint R1 who sign-up at the site will see this as almost one flow since the connection can be terminated right after a user has installed the profile. A user will then immediately return as pre-provisioned.

Online signup through the R2 online signup server (OSU) has many benefits to users once there is sufficient device support.

It remains to be seen if the benefits of Passpoint R3 terms and conditions and user engagement features will be significant or if it would be more beneficial to use the same processes as with Passpoint R1/R2 capable devices (dotted line in the figure).

Swisscom and Enea shortlisted for the WBA Industry Awards 2022

Swisscom and Enea Shortlisted for the WBA 2022 Industry Awards

October 5, 2022/in Carrier Wi-Fi /by Johan Terve

We have won many awards over the years, but nothing beats having the chance to win one of the industry’s most prestigious awards together with a customer!

Thank you, the Jury of the 2022 Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) Industry Awards, for selecting our submission – Swisscom B2B services for the mass market powered by Enea – as one of the three finalists in the Best Wi-Fi Network Operator category.

All shortlisted companies can be viewed here: https://wballiance.com/wba-industry-awards/award-shortlist/

WHY WE SHOULD WIN

We think that Swisscom deserves to win this award. They are one of these operators that constantly drive the service provider Wi-Fi Industry forward on all fronts. We are immensely proud to be an essential component of their Wi-Fi service.

Watch this video where Swisscom’s Product Manager Goran Spirov makes the case why Swisscom should win this award. As said, we at Enea can’t agree more! Fingers crossed for the Jury’s decision announced on October 19, 2022.

Hear the motivation directly from Goran Spirov at Swisscom

Secure and seamless Carrier Wi-Fi with Passpoint

Secure and Seamless Carrier Wi-Fi Services with Passpoint

September 22, 2022/in Carrier Wi-Fi /by Johan Terve

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In this post, we will talk about the different Passpoint releases (R1-R3) and the status of device support. Don’t miss our upcoming blog post, A Pragmatic Approach to Passpoint on how to overcome challenges with the lack of widespread device support for R2 and R3.

One of the essential tools in the Wi-Fi toolbox is Passpoint® with SIM authentication. It enables seamless and secure carrier-grade quality and highly monetizable Wi-Fi services. The Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E radio technology, capable of delivering high-quality wireless connectivity, is an excellent starting point. But for service providers, such capabilities must be transformed into user-friendly, secure, well-defined, and preferably carrier-class high-speed wireless data services.

To that end, the Wi-Fi industry has developed the Hotspot 2.0 standard, nowadays more commonly referred to by its equipment certification name of Passpoint. Once provisioned on the phone or other Wi-Fi device, Passpoint technology allows users to connect securely, instantly, and automatically to the public (or enterprise) Passpoint-capable Wi-Fi networks, for example, at public venues such as airports, stadiums, transport hubs, on aircraft, and so on.

The Passpoint technology also facilitates roaming onto Wi-Fi networks belonging to other service providers or third parties, given that a roaming agreement with the subscriber’s home service provider exists. The WBA OpenRoaming initiative has the potential to make Wi-Fi roaming just as seamless for the user as roaming with cellular phones.

THE COMPONENTS OF PASSPOINT

A Passpoint-capable network is defined by supporting the following functions:

The network (Wi-Fi access point) should broadcast its capabilities and available services using 802.11u and a protocol called ANQP.
The network must use 802.1x-based authentication and WPA2 or WPA3 for over-the-air encryption.
Support for EAP-SIM/AKA (SIM identity-based) or EAP-TLS/TTLS (certificate-based methods usually for non-SIM devices) authentication.
Optional Wi-Fi roaming with home operator billing.

A critical component is the capability of Passpoint services to deliver ‘Wi-Fi offload’-type services based on credentials stored in the subscriber’s SIM. This means mobile operators can integrate carrier Wi-Fi services into their total service offering. Read more about this in our Wi-Fi and Cellular Convergence – Opportunities Today post.

Passpoint is designed to create a carrier-grade Wi-Fi service with a familiar and seamless user experience like that of cellular networks. However, mobile operators can comfortably apply EAP-SIM/AKA authentication and mobile core integration outside the complete Hotspot 2.0/Passpoint specification. Aptilo Networks was already providing such solutions long before the release of the first Passpoint-capable devices. This also means that EAP-based authentication (SIM/AKA and TLS/TTLS) is not equivalent to Passpoint as such, which is a common misunderstanding.

In the USA, Passpoint-capable Wi-Fi services and roaming are fairly readily available, for example, on the Boingo Wi-Fi network deployed at many airport locations and on some public Wi-Fi networks provided by US cablecos, for instance, on the former Time Warner Cable public Wi-Fi network today owned and operated by Charter Communications. Today, both Android and iOS operating systems natively support Passpoint, and many phones provided by US carriers are pre-provisioned to support Passpoint services.

In Europe and elsewhere, Passpoint-capable Wi-Fi services are less common but available from some major carriers in the form of EAP-SIM/AKA enabled ‘Wi-Fi offload’ convergent mobile services. Most enterprise-grade Wi-Fi access points are certified according to the Passpoint specifications.

The critical components of Wi-Fi Alliance Passpoint

THE DIFFERENT PASSPOINT RELEASES

The different Wi-Fi Alliance Passpoint versions

Release 1 (R1)

The first release was introduced in 2012, and all the protocols and standards mentioned above, including 802.11u and ANQP, were included with the ability for the device to discover Passpoint-enabled networks and automatically connect to the optimal one.

Challenges still remain in the onboarding of new devices. Users need to provision Pass-point R1 credentials manually by downloading a particular file that contains profile and credential information. Many service providers use an app to make this process seamless for the user. More or less, all mobile phones and laptops support Passpoint RI. This includes Apple iPhones, although Apple has never formally certified them.

Release 2 (R2)

This version, released in 2014, included the important Online Sign-Up (OSU) server allowing new users to create an account and, in a user-friendly way, provision Passpoint credentials at the point of access. This enables easy ad-hoc sign-up of new users, where they can select the service provider of choice if several options exist. The client validates the OSU server certificate to ensure that the server is trusted. SOAP-XML or OMA-DM messages over HTTPS are then used for secure communications between the client and the provisioning servers.

Passpoint R2 requires a separate SSID for Online Sign-Up, either an open SSID or a so-called OSEN (OSU Server-only Authenticated L2 Encryption Network). This version also includes enhanced policy control for service providers. Device support is still limited.

Release 3 (R3)

R3 was released in 2019, but has not yet been certified by any major handset manufacturers (as of September 2022). This version includes several new ANQP protocol elements and improvements in the interaction between operators and end-users. While previous versions have focused entirely on automatic connection and onboarding of the users, Passpoint R3 aims to enhance captive portal functions by leveraging ANQP messaging.

For the first time, Passpoint allows operators to offer B2B customers a tool to engage with visitors. They can do this through a Venue URL, which displays information about the Wi-Fi service and, at the same time, provides offers and local promotions. The R3 version also includes features for end-users to approve terms and conditions and charges for the Wi-Fi service.

We think Passpoint R3 may have attempted to push the user engagement features too far. Deploying these features through ANQP locally in the access points will make it harder to maintain central control, especially in a multi-vendor deployment scenario. Because of the challenges in management and lack of device support, there is a risk that R3 will never be implemented in carrier Wi-Fi networks.

Passpoint R3 also makes roaming much quicker and easier as the client can indicate its membership of a roaming consortium to a Wi-Fi access point.

Security is further improved in R3 with support up WPA3-Enterprise, whereas R2 and R1 only support up to WPA2-Enterprise. It is also possible to use the same SSID for both the actual Wi-Fi service (WPA2/WPA3) and the online sign-up (OSEN) functionality.

STRATEGIES FOR DEPLOYING PASSPOINT IN THE REAL WORLD

The Passpoint certification is a moving target, and things may have changed by the time you read this. But, as of September 2022, only niche handset brands has been certified for the latest Passpoint release (R3). Some Android-based phones are R2 certified, but many are old and not in the market anymore. In addition, smartphone vendors usually customize the Android platform to match their product requirements. So, just because it works with one vendor doesn’t mean it works with another.

The Passpoint certification from Wi-Fi Alliance only certifies the radio protocols. In practice, new releases from R2 and above, which include more complex service-related features, cannot be guaranteed to work end-to-end in a Wi-Fi service. We have experienced this through the testing conducted by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA).

Conversely, it is probably true that devices with R2 support that has not been Passpoint certified also exist, just as R1 is supported in iPhones without official certification.

But as a service provider, you cannot rely on so many unknown parameters.

On a more positive note, it is generally true that most smartphones, tablets, and laptops now support at least Passpoint R1. Therefore, operators should create and deploy Wi-Fi services based on R1, possibly with an extension for selective use of R2.

One thing is certain: Operators who wait for new standards to be fully deployed and for mobile device manufacturers to adopt them risk waiting for a very long time. It is not only the complexity of the technology that decides whether a handset manufacturer develops support for standards like Passpoint R2/R3 or not. Thus, the wait could go on forever. Fortunately, there is no reason to delay the introduction of carrier-grade Wi-Fi services.

In our upcoming blog post, A Pragmatic Approach to Passpoint, we will discuss how Passpoint R1, together with the new Captive Portal API, may well be the interim solution that, in the end, becomes the permanent pragmatic solution for Passpoint-enabled networks.

World’s First Complete Carrier Wi-Fi Service Management SaaS

Why CPSs Need Cloud SaaS Service Management to Ensure Success in Enterprise Wi-Fi

June 21, 2022/in Carrier Wi-Fi /by Johan Terve

By: Jonas Lagerquist, Director Product Management at Enea

Nearly 18 billion Wi-Fi devices will be in use in 2022, with another 4.4 billion shipping over the course of the year, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance. The enormous installed base highlights why mobile operators, telcos, and other communications service providers (CSPs) need to double down on their support for Wi-Fi — and fast.

But that’s easier said than done. For starters, Wi-Fi technology is continually evolving to meet the needs of consumers and businesses, such as with Passpoint and OpenRoaming to simplify authenticating and connecting. Meanwhile, the marketplace is rapidly growing and diversifying as enterprises, smart cities, and other organizations increasingly use Wi-Fi for their IoT applications.

CSPs struggle to keep up with these new technologies and market opportunities. Often it’s because they’re saddled with a homegrown or legacy Wi-Fi service management system that’s incapable of changing with the times. For example, those systems may not support key processes such as SIM authentication and serving as a 3GPP AAA for Wi-Fi Calling. They may also be unable to support ad-hoc onboarding of Passpoint profiles or enable participation in the OpenRoaming consortium. As a result, those CSPs miss out on the revenue and market-differentiation opportunities that those processes enable.

SaaS Lowers Barriers to New Services and Market Opportunities

Enea Aptilo Wi-Fi SMP enriching existing legacy or home grown Wi-Fi service management systems

To help service providers overcome those and other challenges, Enea recently launched the Aptilo Wi-Fi Service Management Platform as a Service (SMP-S). It’s the industry’s first comprehensive software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution for launching and monetizing Wi-Fi services.

Hosted as a dedicated instance per customer at Amazon Web Services (AWS), SMP-S gives each CSP a self-contained, secure service that also can be deployed as a hybrid service to enhance their existing Wi-Fi service management software. This design provides a fast, cost-effective way to modernize their back-end because they simply add the functionality they need from SMP-S in the cloud on top of their existing infrastructure.

For years, over 100 CSPs worldwide have deployed Aptilo SMP Wi-Fi software on-premise to support service delivery, security, administration, monitoring, and other key processes. With SMP-S, they now can have all of those capabilities provided as a cloud-based service.

For example, SMP-S includes multi-tenancy business-to-business (B2B) support, which enables CSPs to sell managed Wi-Fi services to owners of venues such as malls, stadiums, airports, and multi-tenant office campuses. Those enterprise customers can choose from various login methods to onboard guests to their Wi-Fi service, including social media accounts, Office 365, surveys, and online payments.

SMP-S also provides CSPs with the tools that enable their enterprise customers to monetize Wi-Fi, such as with GDPR-compliant targeted advertising via banner ads, SMS, or email. The Enea Aptilo Venue Wi-Fi Manager (VWM) included with SMP-S lets CSPs manage their multi-tenant B2B guest Wi-Fi services and provide their business customers with tools for analytics, captive portals, and Wi-Fi marketing and end-user privacy.

Predictability, Scalability, and Security

As a service rather than on-premise software, SMP-S also frees CSPs to focus on their core business. For example, Enea staff manage the operation of the SMP platform — including a 24/7/365 SLA.

Financial predictability is another key benefit. CSPs know up front what to expect from each monthly invoice — no surprise costs. The pay-as-you-grow model also lets CSPs expand their Wi-Fi service footprint and add functions that complement their existing solution instead of doing a forklift upgrade.

Finally, SMP-S also allows CSPs to provide another layer of secure Wi-Fi SSID (802.1x) at every access point and then combine that with mobile core integration and SIM authentication. This enables CSPs to offload subscribers securely and seamlessly to Wi-Fi and boost indoor coverage while freeing up much-needed additional capacity.

Analysts are already lauding SMP-S as an industry-first solution. One example is Sue Rudd, Strategy Analytics Director of Networks and Service Platforms, who says: “Wi-Fi service management ‘in the cloud’ should immediately accelerate CSPs’ ability to launch new functionality and add services alongside existing systems to secure new revenues. Enea’s Wi-Fi service management offers multitenant B2B customer self-management while ensuring the correct handling of consent and use of personal data. These capabilities now make it far easier to monetize Wi-Fi and create valuable experiences for subscribers. Carrier Wi-Fi SaaS is a game-changer for CSPs and their business customers.”

To learn more about SMP-S, visit https://www.aptilo.com/cloud/enea-aptilo-wifi-smp-as-a-service.

Operator Wi-Fi Monetization Strategies

June 10, 2022/in Carrier Wi-Fi /by Johan Terve

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Based on twenty years of Wi-Fi industry evolution, carrier Wi-Fi monetization strategies are both well-known and evolving continuously to match B2B and B2C needs.

In our previous blog posts, we have addressed how operators can monetize indirectly by making the most of their Wi-Fi assets and integrating Wi-Fi with their cellular 4G and 5G networks.

This blog post will dwell on how service providers can monetize Wi-Fi directly through B2B and home Wi-Fi services.

Enea, through the Aptilo Product Line, has been actively participating in this service evolution process from the start.

So how do you monetize Wi-Fi? The question has loomed large for years, particularly since, from a consumer point of view, Wi-Fi is typically offered as a free amenity. This does, however, not mean that service providers cannot monetize Wi-Fi services. Apple founder Steve Jobs once elegantly pointed out that “if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” And this is indeed true specifically for Wi-Fi.

The service provider will receive significant revenues from venues that want to provide carrier-grade Wi-Fi to guests or workers to stay competitive and relevant. Users receive the free service in return for their engagement with the brand and as a result of surrendering some personal details. The service providers may even agree to subsidize the B2B Wi-Fi service at particularly attractive venues to secure a valuable indoor Wi-Fi footprint for their subscribers’ use.

For years operator-managed Wi-Fi has been a specialized but growing telecom market segment. Most Wi-Fi monetization strategies and methods are not new. Still, in the coming years, we expect them to grow in value and importance as they are boosted, particularly by the mass-market arrival of new Wi-Fi technology.

This strategy is driven by the continuous increase in demand for quality Wi-Fi services by businesses everywhere. Hardly a public or private venue exists without the need for Wi-Fi. So business customers can now benefit by offering their visitors and staff top-quality carrier-grade Wi-Fi delivered by expert service providers.

OPERATOR MANAGED B2B GUEST WI-FI

B2B-Guest-WiFi-operated-by-service-provider

B2B Wi-Fi offers not only a significant revenue stream but also a needed service ‘stickiness’ that keeps businesses and consumers coming back. Enea believes B2B Wi-Fi is a business-critical contribution to an all-encompassing 5G strategy, including high-speed, low-latency indoor services delivered over Wi-Fi.

Businesses want to provide an easy-to-use, high-quality Wi-Fi service for their visitors. In many cases, venue owners see value in using Wi-Fi to engage with their guests and clients, for example, by asking clients to complete a short survey, create and verify accounts, or presenting them with Internet access sponsorship options, coupon offers, and so on.

In some cases, venues will still request payment for Wi-Fi services, often according to a ‘freemium’-type business model. In other instances, venues may accept guests accessing their network via Passpoint-based auto-connect Wi-Fi either for free or via a paid settlement agreement between operators.

It is a well-established fact that venue owners benefit from collecting and analyzing Wi-Fi data. They can use the data for targeted marketing of products and services. Care must be exercised to act only in accordance with GDPR or other relevant privacy regulations.

When operators provide such sophisticated Wi-Fi-based tools to businesses, they are typically also engaging their clients at the decision-making level, which is conducive to building stronger, higher-value, and more fruitful client relationships.

B2B Wi-Fi is a win x 5. The service provider’s B2B department gets a profitable service, business customers get analytics and a tool to engage their visitors, and visitors get a carrier class Wi-Fi service. If an additional SSID or Passpoint service is implemented for the operator’s subscribers, then the consumer department will receive the benefits of reduced churn and network operations will get much needed indoor coverage.

All of these things are not easy for business owners to accomplish on their own. In most cases, they are best provided by experts – meaning operators.

Suppose operator B2B Wi-Fi doubles as a service offered to consumers. In that case, both operators and consumers will benefit from the high-capacity deep indoor wireless coverage – provided that the Wi-Fi networks are built on Wi-Fi 6 and follow carrier-grade quality standards. The same applies to any businesses relying on indoor coverage.

Last but not least: Mobile operators can, in some cases, leverage the strong demand for Wi-Fi from businesses to introduce small cells or DAS systems into indoor locations owned by such businesses. In some instances, venue owners may more readily accept such installations when also provided with the quality Wi-Fi that their businesses and their guests need. In this way, the operator’s B2B Wi-Fi services can also become an indirect means of achieving better indoor cellular coverage.

OPERATOR HOME WI-FI

Residential Wi-Fi delivered by ISPs is right now one of the most significant growth opportunities not just in Wi-Fi but within all of the tech world. A big driver is the need for much better home connectivity to accommodate an avalanche of devices. More and more individuals are transforming their homes into work-from-home offices.

Most ISP-delivered home Wi-Fi services are today managed with simple WPA2 or WPA3 passkey access. However, in more sophisticated cases, smart home services are delivered to Wi-Fi devices at the endpoints. For example, a smart home Wi-Fi configuration app can provision not only Internet connectivity but many other services, such as parental controls, security monitoring, motion detection, and more.

In a few relatively new use cases, the classic world of residential Wi-Fi (as provided by ISPs) and public Wi-Fi (such as managed services enabled by Passpoint or SIM-based authentication) are to some extent merging.

These include, for example, Wi-Fi services offered at MDU (Multi-Dwelling Unit) housing complexes such as senior living facilities, long-stay resorts and condominiums, college campuses, and more.

Wi-Fi services for MDUs – because they are often deployed to cover a wide area similar to classic campus Wi-Fi – often require carrier-grade authentication and service management so guests and residents can enjoy high-quality, secure, and reliable Wi-Fi services anywhere on the property and on any connected device they choose.

We believe the service provider industry in the coming years will see new products or even new companies emerge to serve many such specialized MDU (or new emerging enterprise) segments. Many such new business opportunities will be driven by the hugely improved and more sophisticated Wi-Fi technology and services based on Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E.