Good News for Commuters: Mobile Data Innovation with a Cloud Based Network Selection and SIM Authentication

Online, May 28, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Guglielmo and Trustive, two of Europe's leading operators, have signed an important agreement, which aims to strengthen the historical collaboration between these companies and enable them to offer truly transparent and automatic access to both cellular and WiFi networks for all users travelling in Europe using a "SIM unlocked"* or dual SIM Android smartphone for voice, SMS, mobile data and WiFi access.

The object of the agreement envisages the distribution of a combined SIM card and a free application for Android smartphones, which provides seamless authentication using purely the SIM card data, thereby guaranteeing complete user identification, total privacy and maximum speed of access, without the need to enter a password or perform any kind of manual sign up procedure.

The partners' goals are aligned to offer viable alternatives to expensive 3G roaming packages through easy to use solutions aimed at business and leisure travellers for comprehensive data communications using WiFi and cost-effective voice communications whilst they are on the move.

Initial testing has started and proved very successfully in France and Italy. Every year France and Italy welcome over 130 million visitors, travelling on business or leisure, and mobile Internet access using the mobile phone network is proving increasingly more limited due to the high international roaming fees applied. In this context, WiFi is the ideal tool for overcoming these limitations, as long as access availability is extremely widespread and above all if network access is practical and efficient.

What this initiative sets out to do is offer an effective answer to what has now become an extremely widespread need.

Guglielmo and Trustive have over 7,000 premium sites (over 30,000 access points) distributed throughout France and Italy which users will be able to connect to by simply using their SIM card as an automatic authentication tool, emulating, in each and every way, access to the mobile phone network.

In recent years, the huge explosion in the smartphone market and the forecasted exponential growth in mobile traffic have profoundly changed the scenario of applications and services which can be fully experienced whilst on the move, making WiFi a key part of the mobile infrastructure.

In an attempt to manage the issues involved in a fully seamless integration between WiFi and cellular networks, main standardization boards are currently working to define guidelines and protocols for WiFi network implementation. This process has proven to be somewhat confusing because the various organizations and standardisation boards are all focusing on similar problems while pursuing different solutions. Furthermore, the lack of compliance for these standards on network elements (mobile terminals, access points, controllers, etc.) makes the transition to new standards extremely difficult.

The free application for Android smartphones has an effective Cloud Based Network Selection logic and includes a patented SIM-based user authentication, thus overcoming what has always been the real limit in accessing heterogeneous wireless networks. In particular this limitation is even more pronounced in Europe where the heterogeneity of networks is even more marked. The application also includes a "hotspot finder", integrated with gmaps, so that the user can find the nearest WiFi network available and also makes it possible to select "friendly" WiFi networks for automatic connection (e.g. home and company networks), thus overcoming the limits imposed by the operating system installed on the user's handheld device.

"This new authentication process probably represents the most innovative development we have dealt with over the last few years, because it significantly improves user experience and connection reliability," says Giovanni Guerri, CEO of Guglielmo. "The most significant feature is the extraordinary capacity to perform authentication on a WiFi network using the active connection, thus opening a completely revolutionary scenario in terms of performance."

Christian Vanghelder, MD at Trustive, stated "as commuters ourselves, we look at innovation to support the need to communicate and stay in touch with our business, our family and friends. The Android smartphone and OTT services have revolutionised the way we communicate. But we still face confusing data plans, high costs/restrictions and complex authentication models in order to access the internet abroad. Along with SIM Card authentication for both 3G and WiFi, we can now provide truly seamless access and improve security and all this at a competitive price by combining offers from our long term partners. We are happy to launch this initiative, combining our experience and expertise to facilitate and secure access for commuters."

Guglielmo and Trustive are planning to launch a commercial offer in France and Italy this summer and, according to customer feedback, may extend this program across the rest of Europe thereafter.

In the current market there is still a lot of room for innovation and Guglielmo and Trustive expect this initiative to point the way forward for mobile operators, encouraging the speedy deployment of new, simplified offers, using SIM cards as the key for simplification and security. At the moment 340 million roaming trips are looking for a solution!

*"SIM Unlocked" smartphone is a smartphone accepting any SIM and not linked to a specific operator