Orange France to roll out hotspot 2.0 in early 2012

Orange France will follow rival SFR in launching 'hotspot 2.0' technology throughout the country in early 2012, Les Echos reports. Under the auspices of Wireless Broadband Alliance, operators are testing hotspot 2.0, intended to offer users the same experience regardless of where they connect, China, the US or elsewhere, somewhat like the 3G mobile standard, according to WBA vice president and France Telecom-Orange executive Cedric Gonin. The technology enables seamless transition from 3G to Wi-Fi. SFR, Orange and Bouygues have expanded their Wi-Fi networks by allowing customers to open their home WLANs to community members who have done the same. Orange did so in the Paris area in November 2011 and other parts of the country will be added soon. Mobile operators see Wi-Fi as a priority to regain the upper hand in the face of parallel networks operated by internet giants such as Microsoft's Skype and to nip network agnostic Wi-Fi dongle start-ups. Worldwide public hotspots are forecast to reach 5.8 million in 2015, 4.5 million in 2014, 3.3 million in 2013 and 2.1 million this year, compared to 1.3 million in 2011, according to Informa. Laptops account for some 48 percent of hotspot connections at present, ahead of smartphones with 36 percent, tablets with 10 percent and other devices with 6 percent. An Informa suvey found that 47 percent of mobile operators believe hotspots are now crucial to meet customer expectations, to relieve traffic on the mobile network and to diversify revenue streams.