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Telecommunications Microsoft warming up to WiFi
Telecommunications Microsoft warming up to WiFi | Microsoft warming up to WiFi |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Saturday, 26 August 2006 | |
      
According to Light Reading, Microsoft has released Windows Live WiFi Suite beta that includes hotspot discovery capabilities, an 'intelligent connection' manager and VPN security. It says Microsoft is touting the system as "a fast and easy way to find hotspots without having to go to a web page." Companies like Boingo, and iPass, provide travellers with access to the Internet from tens of thousands of points around the globe. iPass originated in the days when dialup was dominant and delivered its functionality by signing deals with ISPs around the world that enabled its customers to dial in to any of them using a single sign-on. Its business has evolved to parallel the evolution in access from dialup to broadband to WiFi hotspots. For example, a deal signed earlier this month has given its customers access to 1000 WiFi hotspots in Australia operated by Telstra. Equally importantly the functionality of its service has evolved from simple access to provide the end-to-end security that corporates now demand before they will let their travelling execs gain remote access to company networks. For example, security features can enforce existing company IT policies on remote laptops - reducing the risk of viruses and Trojans entering the corporate network. Boingo started life as the operator of a network of WiFi hotspots but now provides a similar service to iPass, but only from hotspots: it claims a network, through arrangements with other operators, of 45,000 worldwide. Representatives of Boingo quoted by Light Reading welcomed the Microsoft initiative and said they did not see it as a threat. The may live to eat their words. Mobility is an ever-increasing requirement, Microsoft is shifting its focus from providing end users with software to providing them with services and establishing direct relationships with them. It seems highly likely that it will evolve its simple intelligent location software into a fully fledged global access service. How attractive would it be to buy our Windows-powered laptop and know that, out of the box, it will give you Internet access wirelessly wherever you were? |
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