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AT&T Ready to Offer Free Public Wi-Fi to Downtown Austin

Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has reported that AT&T has completed a proof-of-concept trial of its Wi-Fi network with WBA OpenRoaming in areas of downtown Austin, Texas along 6th street and outside of Stubbs BBQ.

AT&T HQThe network showcases the future of public Wi-Fi, where OpenRoaming provides secure, automatic and friction-free access to any device using their public Wi-Fi network.

“A cultural hotspot like downtown Austin, deserves the ultimate Wi-Fi hotspot: one that requires zero effort to access public Wi-Fi automatically, securely and reliably. That’s exactly the kind of user experience AT&T is providing with Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint and WBA OpenRoaming. Once again, we’ve raised the bar for speed, security and convenience”, said JR Wilson, AT&T VP of Tower Strategy and Roaming.

Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of WBA said: “This trial is the first step to proving WBA OpenRoaming technology in a dense, urban location. This will be further developed during the summer of 2021 and commercial developments will come onboard.”

AT&T is the first major operator to the trial deployment of WBA OpenRoaming in a high-density city network.

WBA OpenRoaming frees users from constantly re-registering or re-entering log-in credentials enabling the convenience of instant network access, enterprise-grade security and a carrier-grade Wi-Fi experience.

Widespread easy access to public Wi-Fi in Austin enables residents to easily access services in the downtown area. While this is initially a trial proof of concept, in the future the vision for OpenRoaming is one in which citizens will be able to stay connected in virtually any location across a city without worrying about potential security risks, ensuring cities and public spaces are more friendly to businesses, visitors and residents alike.

In the context of city deployments of WBA OpenRoaming, future deployments can see public Wi-Fi access in schools and libraries and other public domains, as demonstrated in Europe with the WiFi4EU initiatives, enabling secure access to the internet for research, schooling and business activities.

The Canary Wharf deployment in the UK has already transformed the business district into a connected hub, allowing citizens to from street level to high-rise offices while staying seamlessly connected with OpenRoaming enabled Wi-Fi.

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Aishwarya Saxena

A book geek, with creative mind, an electronics degree, and zealous for writing.Creativity is the one thing in her opinion which drove her to enter into editing field. Allured towards south Indian cuisine and culture, love to discover new cultures and their customs. Relishes in discovering new music genres.

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