Devicescape partners with iPass to create 50 million hotspot wifi network

Public wifi hotspot aggregator Devicescape is teaming up with commercial wifi network company iPass to create what is being claimed as the world’s largest commercial wifi network.

Devicescape runs a curated virtual network, which involves aggregating a number of public networks into one, removing the need to log in again every time an end user switches networks. By integrating the 20 million hotspots Devicescape curates into its commercial network, iPass reckons the grand total exceeds 50 million hotspots, making it the world’s largest commercial wifi network.

“No single network in isolation can deliver the quality and consistency of connectivity that end users require,” said Dave Fraser, CEO of Devicescape. “We are thrilled to be contributing our curated virtual network to this ambitious undertaking, not least because it is so well aligned with our Connectivity First philosophy.”

“With the launch of the iPass Unlimited wifi service in April, we opened up the opportunity to be everywhere,” said iPass CEO Gary Griffiths. “With today’s partnership with Devicescape, and other network partnerships signed that I will disclose on the second quarter earnings call this week, we in fact will have more than doubled our presence by the end of this quarter.

“Coupled with our developing product features offering invisible connectivity, our alliance with Devicescape is significant not only in moving iPass customers closer to ubiquitous connectivity, but also in setting the stage for global wifi accessibility for the Internet of Things.”

This move improves Devicescape’s presence in the enterprise sector, while iPass gets to chuck some big numbers around when selling its commercial offering, so it looks like a win-win, especially if it catalyses further similar partnerships.