Mobile connectivity services provider iPass has launched the iPass Open Mobile Exchange (iPass OMX), a carrier-grade platform for service providers to extend core mobility and Internet offerings by integrating Wi-Fi with 3G and 4G.
iPass said the iPass OMX combines a zero-click mobile data offload offering with Wi-Fi integrated services for both domestic and international data roaming.
Service providers can deliver Wi-Fi connectivity that functions like mobile data roaming, automatically connecting users to preferred networks, added the company.
Service providers can also use the tool to merge Wi-Fi with 3G and 4G networks, and resell their own Wi-Fi networks to other operators.
Service providers can also use the tool to: reduce network and signalling congestion; simplify the end-user connectivity experience; and monetise their Wi-Fi network assets to other service providers, said the company.
iPass president and CEO Evan Kaplan said the next wave of Wi-Fi is becoming a mobile operator phenomenon.
He added that "it is our business to help telecom operators enter the Wi-Fi business with speed to market and a reduced cost and risk profile, without a need for additional capital investment."
"By enabling operators to provide an integrated approach to mobility, iPass OMX positions them to participate in the second wave of Wi-Fi. With Steve Livingston at the helm of our OMX offering, I’m confident that iPass can extend its highly reliable Wi-Fi exchange service to operators worldwide."
iPass OMX has already been adopted by Deutsche Telekom as part of its Wi-Fi Mobilize service, announced last month.
