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SOCIAL MEDIA October 2014 airportbusiness 33 Nielsen recently found that travelers are more likely to own smartphones and tablets than the general population, with 75 percent owning a smartphone and 44 percent owning a tablet. These devices are their lifelines to work, family and friends, entertainment and the vital travel information they need at their fingertips. And few things are more frustrat- ing—and anger inducing—for travelers than having to fumble with WiFi passwords or reset their wireless settings to get connected when seconds count before a flight takes off. New wireless standards are arriving at major airports across the United States that will make these occasional wireless annoyanc- es history. Called Passpoint, the technology is a revolutionary new set of wireless protocols that enable seamless, secure, automatic WiFi access, with no user action needed. Passpoint networks have the power to fundamentally change the way consumers connect to WiFi, doing away with public WiFi network log-ins and browser redirects, dramatically improving the experience of connecting to WiFi. Developed by a joint task force of leading wireless industry trade groups and more than 75 of the world's biggest wireless providers, including AT&T;, BT and Time Warner Cable, the Passpoint standards are finally moving rapidly from years of lab testing to consumer venues. Airports are leading the charge and pioneering Passpoint adoption across the United States. In the first quarter of 2014, 23 of the largest airports in the United States, including Chicago O'Hare, JFK, LAX and Austin-Bergstrom International, launched secure Passpoint networks with wireless part- ner Boingo Wireless, making this improved wireless experience available initially to power users and soon to all travelers. With Passpoint-enabled networks launch- ing throughout cities such as San Francisco and San Jose, and across service provider net- works like Time Warner Cable's 33,000 U.S. hotspots, tech-savvy travelers will soon come to expect the ease and safety of Passpoint connections. Airports large and small will soon need to ready their networks for the coming Passpoint revolution. THE PASSPOINT EXPERIENCE The Passpoint protocols were developed in response to the huge data onslaught in the advent of the smartphone to enable seamless access to WiFi networks, making offload from overtaxed cellular networks to fast and avail - able WiFi networks possible. With improved consumer experiences at the heart of the standards, Passpoint delivers a number of benefits to passengers and airports: Seamless, Secure Customer Experience: Travelers with a Passpoint profile installed on their late model device can enjoy an automatic connection from the moment they enter the airport or step off the plane. By the time their device knows WiFi is available, they're already online. The Passpoint net- works also provide a WPA2 (WiFi Protected Access) encrypted connection automatical- ly, ensuring enterprise-level security, with no additional software or Virtual Private Network (or VPNs) needed. In short, travel- ers get connected faster to a safer network— PASSPOINT GLOSSARY GETTING to know Passpoint? Here are some essential terms to know and love: f Passpoint: Passpoint is the WiFi Alliance's trademarked brand designating that hardware or a device is Passpoint compliant, meaning it has passed interoperability testing against the Hotspot 2.0 technical specification. f Hotspot 2.0: Hotspot 2.0 is a hardware industry specification designed to simplify public WiFi connections. This technical specification defines the minimum core technologies for automatic, secure connections to public WiFi networks. f Next Generation Hotspot: Next Generation Hotspot is an initiative within the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA)—the global organization for WiFi network operators—to enable public WiFi networks for seamless, secure connections using Passpoint-certified hardware, and network integration best practices defined by the WBA and its members. f Passpoint Worldwide: Passpoint launched at consumer venues for the first time in the first quarter of 2014, and has since gained momentum. Today, you can find Passpoint-enabled networks from the following providers, which is just the start of an industry-wide roll out. f Boingo Wireless: Boingo launched networks named "Passpoint Secure" at 23 leading airports throughout the United States, including LAX, Chicago O'Hare, New York's JFK and LaGuardia, and Austin-Bergstrom International, among many others. f Time Warner Cable : Time Warner Cable launched 33,000 Passpoint-enabled hotspots throughout the United States for its customers. Boingo and Time Warner Cable also have partnered on a roaming agreement, making each other's Passpoint networks available to customers. f Cities of San Francisco and San Jose: The cities have announced that their municipal WiFi networks are Passpoint-enabled, and users with a Passpoint profile installed will be able to roam onto both cities' networks seamlessly. f Passpoint International, via Orange Poland: The wireless carrier launched a Passpoint- enabled network at Warsaw Royal Gardens, the largest park in Poland.