Mohammad Patel, WAPA

The Wireless Access Providers’ Association (WAPA) has forged a partnership with industry association Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), to facilitate communication around open access carrier-grade WiFinetworks in SA.

This comes amid industry word of a WiFi watershed in the country this year, and will see WBA – the industry body focused on driving next-generation WiFi – and WAPA hold cross-industry working groups to bolster the technology.

“Recent predictions from industry analysts point towards 2014 being a breakthrough year for WiFi in SA, as some of the larger telecommunications providers move towards providing connectivity via WiFi or mobile data ‘offload’ in public areas, such as transport hubs and shopping centres,” notes WAPA.

“WAPA has long highlighted the importance of WiFi to our members and the industry,” says WAPA chairperson Mohammad Patel. WAPA has 168 members (including associate members) – all accredited with the Independent Communications Authority of SA.

WAPA says it shares similar aims with WBA, in that both organisations are dedicated to growing the wireless industry through the dissemination of information around best practices.

Ton Brand, senior director of marketing and industry development for WBA, says the two like-minded organisations will leverage the partnership and engage with SA’s growing telecoms industry to drive the adoption of next-generation WiFi – and ultimately secure a “seamless WiFi user experience” for end-users.

A series of free webinars will be conducted over the next six months and run through the concepts for setting up WiFi networks in line with industry best practices, says WAPA. “These are open to the public to raise awareness; however, participation in the WAPA-led working group requires WAPA membership.”

TOPICS COVERED WILL BE:

1. Interoperability 101 – defining WiFi roaming and WiFi offload and the next-generation hotspot (Hotspot 2.0).
2. Carrier WiFi – building blocks and roadmap; and best practices around open access.
3. WiFi roaming: WBA roaming framework and understanding wireless roaming intermediary exchange.

The first webinar will take place at 10am on Tuesday, 28 January. Interested parties are requested to contact WAPA for more details by e-mailing: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

WAPA deputy chairman Ellie Hagopian says: “Designing and installing a WiFi network that is reliable, interoperable and able to handle the demands placed on it for value-adds – such as location-based services – requires a nuanced understanding of the capabilities of hardware and software, as well as industry standards.”