Stoke introduced its new Wi-Fi Exchange gateway for helping network operators to safely and automatically authenticate Wi-Fi subscribers and securely link them to their services network. This enables operators to leverage Wi-Fi as an intelligent offload without requiring a software client on the mobile device.
Stoke’s Clientless Interworking solution enables operators to provide trusted connections to mobile services, offering high-density secure session termination of Wi-Fi connections outside the operator core. A key advantage is that, unlike consumer or ad hoc Wi-Fi offload, commercial offload gives subscribers access to all the services, security and standards they receive over cellular networks, effectively extending the operator’s services delivery and revenue generating capabilities to Wi-Fi.
Stoke said benefits of its new Wi-Fi Exchange gateway include:
- eliminating the need for software installation on or hardware modifications to the mobile device;
- enabling a fully-featured and secure experience over Wi-Fi;
- providing operators with visibility into Wi-Fi subscriber traffic in order to optimize the user experience ;
- allowing operators to remain connected with their subscribers throughout their mobile broadband experience.
The company noted that its Wi-Fi Exchange with Clientless Interworking leverages capabilities already deployed in mobile devices and networking infrastructures, such as the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) feature common in today’s mobile device operating systems. Stoke has already demonstrated the use of Wi-Fi Exchange with Wi-Fi infrastructure from Aruba Networks.
“With the expanding availability of Wi-Fi, mobile users are increasingly choosing Wi-Fi over cellular, distancing them from the mobile operator. Operators’ current strategies leveraging unmanaged Wi-Fi offload are reinforcing this effect, which represents a major threat to the business model,�? said Dave Williams, CTO at Stoke. “Operators are aware they have to do something about this, but until now the technology hurdles have been too high. Our offering helps to solve these challenges. It is already attracting strong interest from the operator community, and we are working closely with technology partners to build out an ecosystem supporting our approach.”
http://www.stoke.com
