We’re often asked about the relevance of public Wi-Fi in the light of ubiquitous 3G connectivity. Why would anyone connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot if 3G is so much simpler?

Until recently, the main argument for using Wi-Fi was that it was cheaper and faster. But with the launch of Cell C’s R149 pm 3G package and the subsequent responses by Vodacom and 8ta, public Wi-Fi has come under severe threat.

In general, Wi-Fi hotspots are still marginally cheaper and marginally faster than 3G, but it comes at the cost of mobility and more irritatingly, the need to type in user credentials when connecting. Typing in usernames and (oft forgotten) passwords is generally a schlep, but it’s made worse when you’re having to type them in on a mobile phone.

So what do we do? Enter automated logins! Skyrove has been trialing automated logins using Facebook accounts and other methods for a while now, but these still involve some clicking about, occasionally entering user details or installing an app on your phone.

The holy grail, of course, would be to have your phone automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks without you having to interact with it at all. If you’re at a hotel, airport, train station, restaurant or Greenmarket Square, your phone should connect to the Wi-Fi network without any fuss. If you are driving between places, your phone should hop back onto the the 3G network.

Well, this is finally becoming a reality. The global roaming company iPass announced their Open Mobile Exchange program for mobile network operators this week. The key success factor, in my opinion, is that rather than focusing on the 3G-to-WiFi handover technology alone, iPass can offer operators access to a 140,000+ hotspots worldwide and are leading the charge to make it happen.

Skyrove is a member of the iPass network, so if your mobile operator signs up with iPass, you’ll get easy, zero-click, fast internet access at 700 of our hotspots nationwide!

Let’s hope @vodacom, @MTNSouthAfrica and @CellC get going with this pronto!

Henk

p.s. GigaOM has a great write-up here

Filed under: Business News by henk