SINGAPORE-Five Asian companies joined the collaboration between the Singapore telecom regulator and Intel Corp. to help solve the challenges of hot-spot roaming. The initiative will work to develop standards for global seamless Wi-Fi connectivity.
The companies include China Mobile; Singapore’s mobile operators MobileOne, SingTel Mobile and StarHub; and Hong Kong’s PCCW.
“This is an important collaboration that will spur increased roaming traffic, which in turn creates greater opportunities for businesses and greater access choice for consumers and enterprise users,” said Khoong Hock Yun, assistant chief executive for Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority.
The announcement is the second phase of the initiative first announced in March. Since then, Intel and IDA conducted a study to highlight the challenges faced when adopting Wi-Fi technologies. Key findings included the necessity of one-bill roaming and standard architectures for buildout.
After a trial ends in July 2004, the group will submit findings and recommendations to relevant global industry standards bodies, IDA said.
