New deals, Galaxy S25 edge, S25 Ultra, Watch Ultra, and Bespoke AI Jet Ultra!
Reading time: 2 minutes
Samsung is hardly alone in believing Wi-Fi still has a lot to offer even today, at the advent of the 5G era. More specifically, the likes of Google, Intel, and even cellular experts at Boingo have already officially joined the project.
In its simplest form, OpenRoaming is essentially an alternative to cellular communications, including the incoming 5G wave. While it may appear to be more limited than conventional mobile networks, it doesn't fare too badly when compared to mmWave 5G, i.e. the “real” fifth generation of telecom tech. What has so far been identified as the only viable road to next-gen communications is already notorious for its extreme co-dependency on densely populated networks of small-cell base stations. Meaning 5G's availability is currently in a rather sad place.
Teaching Wi-Fi some new tricks could help smoothen this transitional period in which the world will inevitably be stuck “between Gs,” so to speak. That's precisely where a large portion of OpenRoaming's potential resides. Naturally, the solution's creators are also hoping this strategy could open up new ad-focused monetization opportunities moving forward. Coupled with the rise of Wi-Fi 6, it appears short-distance wireless tech is about to experience a miniature renaissance of sorts, especially if the WBA is even somewhat successful in its plans to leverage OpenRoaming in order to bridge the LTE-5G gap in a maximally seamless manner – for smartphone users, naturally.
Trending
We'd like to show you notifications for the latest important news and updates