Travellers, employees and retailers at Brazil’s São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) are now able to access the world’s first at-airport Wi-Fi 6 network using OpenRoaming.
OpenRoaming, says the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the global organization that connects people with the latest Wi-Fi initiatives, provides secure, automatic and friction-free access to the Cisco-powered network that is managed by Boingo.
The WBA OpenRoaming service, a roaming federation service enabling an automatic and secure Wi-Fi experience globally, will be available to travellers in GRU’s international Terminal 3, using what are described as best-of-breed Samsung Galaxy devices.
Based on 802.11ax and featuring channels up to 160 MHz wide, Wi-Fi 6 can deliver speeds up to three times faster than 802.11 technologies. Designed for use in the 2.4, 5 and new 6 GHz bands, its proponents say that Wi-Fi 6 provides greater reliability, ultra-low latency and higher network efficiency in airports, stadiums and other environments with large numbers of simultaneously connected devices.
The service frees users from the repeat registration and log-in that public Wi-Fi networks often require. When coupled with the Wi-Fi 6 infrastructure, OpenRoaming also helps to provide a carrier-grade Wi-Fi experience, says the WBA.
Boingo, which provides high-speed Wi-Fi and cellular services to airports and other public places, designed, installed and manages the GRU network, which was the world’s first airport Wi-Fi 6 network when it launched in October 2020. Travellers have up to four hours of free access, including from their older generation Wi-Fi devices.
The GRU network features a unified Wi-Fi 6 infrastructure based on Cisco Catalyst access points, controllers and switches. Samsung provided GRU operations employees with ruggedized handsets and other devices enabled with Broadcom’s W-Fi 6 chipset. OpenRoaming identities are used to separate automatic access for GRU employees versus guests.
