TORONTO – Canada’s wireless industry will announce North America’s broadest WiFi hotspot on Wednesday.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), in conjunction with national wireless service providers Bell Mobility, Fido, Rogers Wireless and Telus Mobility, has announced the launch of inter-carrier WiFi service along with the commitment to develop more than 500 new hotspot locations this year.
This new hotspot network, the broadest inter-carrier undertaking of its kind in North America, allows for cross-Canada roaming between carrier-run hotspots under a common brand.
“It’s the first of its kind in Canada, certainly, and it’s also the first of its kind in North America. So, once again, we’re leading the continent in cooperation amongst the carriers, the wireless carriers in Canada and in North America,” said Peter Barnes, president of the CWTA.
Customers of these wireless carriers will be able to log on with their laptops as they normally would regardless of which carrier operates the hot spot.
“The whole idea is to have a common window so that you don’t have to learn a new process, a new personal identification number, a new security screen word or something like that,” added Barnes. “It’s just as if you were dealing with your regular carrier. So the whole idea is to make it simple, make it transparent and what I tend to call the Interac of WiFi.”
