You are at the airport, trying to connect to Wi-Fi.
You tap the network. Wait for the captive portal to load. Scroll through terms and conditions you won't read. Check the box. Enter your email or watch an advertisement. Finally connect, only to repeat the same ritual at your hotel, then again at the conference center the next morning.
Now imagine a different reality.
Your phone automatically connects to secure WiFi at the airport. It stays connected as you move between terminals. It switches seamlessly to the hotel network when you arrive. It works at the conference venue without you opening a browser or typing a password.
No portals. No friction. No guesswork about whether the network is safe.
Just connectivity that works, automatically and securely.
This is the promise of OpenRoaming. But OpenRoaming is more than just “WiFi without login pages”.
What Is OpenRoaming?
OpenRoaming represents a shift in how public and carrier-grade Wi-Fi networks interoperate. Built on standards like Passpoint (Hotspot 2.0) and 802.1X authentication and governed by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) federation framework, OpenRoaming enables independent networks to trust each other securely - without requiring bilateral agreements between every operator.
In simple terms, it is best understood as cellular-style roaming for WiFi but powered by open standards.
Behind the scenes, this global WiFi federation framework brings together 3 key participants:
- Identity providers (such as mobile carriers, ISPs, or enterprises) that authenticate users
- Access network providers (airports, hotels, stadiums, retail chains, municipalities) that operate Wi-Fi infrastructure
- The OpenRoaming Federation, a WBA-governed trust framework that establishes secure relationships between IDPs and ANPs without requiring a bilateral contract between each pair.
When your device encounters an OpenRoaming-enabled network, authentication happens automatically using your existing credentials, whether that’s a SIM-based identity, enterprise certificate, or service-provider account.
The result is a unified, secure WiFi experience that spans thousands of networks worldwide. In traditional WiFi roaming, operators had to form direct roaming agreements with each partner.
As WBA positions it, while it feels simple to the user, the implications are much bigger. OpenRoaming is increasingly being viewed not just as a convenience feature, but as a strategic enabler for:
- Carrier-grade offload
- Secure public Wi-Fi
- 5F and Wi-Fi convergence
The Problem OpenRoaming Solves
Fragmented WiFi Experiences
Public Wi-Fi today operates in silos.
Every venue, whether it’s a coffee shop, hotel, airport, hospital, university or retail stores, runs its own WiFi network with its own authentication mechanism. Some requires passwords from receipts. Others ask for room numbers. Many force email collections while some redirects you though ads. This fragmentation creates constant friction, especially for users who move frequently between locations.
Unlike cellular networks where roaming agreements enable automatic connectivity across regions and operators, Wi-Fi networks lack a unified trust model. Each network treats every device as an unknown visitor.
What you experience is a repetitive login rituals and unnecessary delays
Security Vulnerabilities
Public WiFi has long been associated with security risks, largely due to its history of deployment. Common issues include:
- Open, Unencrypted networks
- Shared passwords (like "Coffee123") offering only perimeter security
- Lack of mutual authentication between user and network
- Vulnerability to Evil twin attacks using spoofed SSIDs
Captive portals may provide control access, but they do not provide strong cryptographic identity verification. This model is fundamentally different from an enterprise Wi-Fi, or in fact cellular networks, where each user is individually authenticated and traffic is encrypted with unique session keys.
The Captive Portal Dependency
Captive portals were designed for a simple access control mechanism, but they introduce multiple limitations:
- They work inconsistently across devices and Operating systems,
- They may demand personal information or forces to watch advertisements
- Create barriers for IoT and headless devices.
- Increases support overhead for operators
Most importantly, they break natural flow of connectivity. Instead of the network recognizing you, you are forced to negotiate access every time. This feels outdated.
Operational Complexity for Network Operators
The problem just doesn’t end at the user side. For network operators, this traditional guest Wi-Fi model creates:
- Credential management overhead
- Support tickets for failed logins
- Limited visibility into user identity
- Difficulty in applying consistent policies across locations
Additionally, as demand for data grows, carriers also need efficient ways to extend capacity. As traditional Wi-Fi operates independently from cellular infrastructure, the opportunity for a tighter integration and secure offload is missing!
How does OpenRoaming work?
To reiterate, OpenRoaming is not a single technology rather a coordinated framework built on existing, proven standards working together:
- Passpoint (Hotspot 2.0) for network discovery
- 802.1X for secure authentication
- EAP methods for credential exchange
- RADIUS federation for identity routing
- Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for trust validation
Network Discovery via Passpoint (Hotspot 2.0)
Passpoint enables automatic network discovery. When your device scans for nearby Wi-Fi which has a Passpoint-enabled network, the access points broadcast additional information elements. Your device compares this information with the credentials already provisioned (for example, from your carrier, ISP, or enterprise). If a match is found, the device automatically selects the network. There is no manual SSID selection and no captive portal.
Secure Authentication (802.11x + EAP)
Once associated, authentication happens using 802.1X, the same framework used in enterprise WiFi networks. Instead of typing passwords, the device authentication happens using secure EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) methods such as:
- EAP-TLS: Certificate-based mutual authentication
- EAP-TTLS: Tunnelled credential authentication
- EAP-SIM/EAP-AKA: SIM-based authentication (commonly used by mobile carriers)
At this stage, communication is encrypted using WPA2-Enterprise or WPA3-Enterprise.
Identity Routing through RADIUS Federation
This is where it becomes unique. In a traditional enterprise setup, the WiFi network knows exactly which RADIUS server to contact. In OpenRoaming, the local network does not necessarily know the user’s identity provider in advance.
When you connect to an OpenRoaming network:
- Your device sends its identity to the local access network provider
- The local network provider’s RADIUS server examines the domain portion of your identity (like "@your-carrier.com")
- The authentication request is routed through the OpenRoaming federation
- The federation identifies the correct Identity Provider (IdP)
- The request is forwarded to the IdP’s RADIUS server
- The IdP validates your identity and approves the connection
- The approval flows back through the same chain
- You're connected, all within 1-3 seconds
The local network is no longer needed to store or manage user credentials directly.
Trust Framework (PKI-Based Security)
OpenRoaming does not rely on informal agreements, rather it operates under a PKI-based trust model managed through the Wireless Broadband Alliance federation.
Each participant organization is issued a digital certificate, validated under defined compliances and is bound by federation policies. There is no direct business relationship to authenticate each other’s users securely.
Encrypted Access and Policy Control
OpenRoaming provides multiple layers of protection:
- Per-user encryption keys: Each device gets unique encryption keys, preventing peer snooping
- Traffic is encrypted end-to-end between the device and the access network
- Policy enforcement can be applied by the access provider or identity provider
Adoption Momentum and Industry Intent
With over 3 million hotspots already achieved early in deployments, a WBA industry survey states ~81 % of industry executives said they are planning to deploy OpenRoaming, with 25 % already rolling out the technology and others targeting deployment in the coming years.
Several early marquee deployments have demonstrated practical value. For example, one of the first large-scale implementations was at São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, delivering secure, automatic Wi-Fi onboarding for travellers without captive portal friction.
Moreover, as per Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Enterprise Networking, WBA OpenRoaming is rated as an “Emerging” technology with a “High Benefit” rating.
HFCL and Delhi University: Scaling OpenRoaming to an Entire Academic Ecosystem
When conversations around OpenRoaming move from theory to execution, scale becomes the real test. It is one thing to enable seamless connectivity across a few public venues. It is another to embed it across a century-old academic institution serving hundreds of thousands of users every day.
That is the transformation now unfolding at University of Delhi, where HFCL, in collaboration with the Wireless Broadband Alliance, is deploying one of the largest OpenRoaming-enabled education networks globally.
Delhi University is not a single, contained campus. It is an expansive academic ecosystem spanning North and South campuses, 60 colleges, administrative buildings, hostels, sports facilities, libraries, and research centers. Every day, hundreds of thousands of students and staff move continuously across these spaces. In such an environment, connectivity cannot afford to reset itself every time a user crosses a building threshold.
Phase 1 of the deployment, comprising 1,000 access points, demonstrated what happens when identity-driven Wi-Fi replaces captive portals. Onboarding became streamlined. Authentication flows disappeared. Institutional credentials integrated seamlessly with Google Workspace and directory services. Students gained secure, automatic access to learning platforms without repeated logins. The network began recognizing users rather than challenging them.
Now, the scale expands dramatically. Phase 2 will extend OpenRoaming across a projected 15,000 access points, enabling seamless connectivity for approximately 400,000 users. At this magnitude, the deployment moves beyond infrastructure enhancement and becomes an architectural transformation.
What makes this significant is not merely the number of access points. It is the operational shift. Universities are among the most complex networking environments: multiple security domains, high device density, constant mobility, and a new cohort of users onboarding every academic cycle. Traditional guest Wi-Fi models struggle under such complexity. Reauthentication loops, fragmented policy enforcement, and support overhead become structural inefficiencies.
By embedding OpenRoaming into the campus fabric, HFCL is helping Delhi University transition from siloed Wi-Fi zones to a federated, identity-aware digital foundation. Authentication occurs automatically using trusted credentials. Encryption is provisioned per user session. Policy control remains centralized, yet user experience becomes invisible. Connectivity persists as students move between lecture halls, libraries, hostels, and research facilities.
In practical terms, this means a student attending a class on North Campus can walk into a hostel on South Campus without ever reopening a browser window to connect. A faculty member can transition between administrative offices and seminar rooms without renegotiating access. The network adapts to movement instead of interrupting it.
For the broader OpenRoaming ecosystem, this deployment carries strategic weight. Large-scale implementations have often been associated with airports and public venues. Delhi University demonstrates that the same federated trust model can sustain one of the densest education environments in the world. It validates OpenRoaming not just as a convenience layer, but as scalable, production-grade infrastructure.
For HFCL, the project underscores a larger positioning. This is not simply about installing access points. It is about engineering a carrier-grade, standards-driven connectivity architecture capable of supporting institutional mobility at metropolitan scale.
As OpenRoaming matures globally, deployments like Delhi University signal where the technology is headed. When nearly 400,000 users can experience secure, automatic connectivity across an entire academic ecosystem, Wi-Fi stops behaving like a hotspot service and begins operating as foundational infrastructure.
In that shift - from access to architecture - lies the real significance of what HFCL is building.
The Economics of OpenRoaming
For OpenRoaming to scale globally, then seamless connectivity is only part of the equation. More importantly, economics must work. OpenRoaming supports both settlement-free and settlement-based participation models
In Settlement-Free models, access is provided as a customer amenity. It is adopted to improve user experience access with no financial transactions between providers However, as OpenRoaming expands into carrier-grade use cases which includes mobile data offload and premium enterprise connectivity, commercial settlement becomes increasingly relevant.
Under the settlement model, the Wireless Broadband Alliance introduced enhancements in OpenRoaming Release 3, strengthening federation scalability and supporting structured commercial models aligned with established roaming frameworks such as WRIX.
The settlement model may include per session compensation, time-based or data volume-based or flat rate interconnect agreements. This allows identity providers (e.g., carriers, ISPs, enterprises) to compensate access network providers for authenticated user sessions — similar in principle to cellular roaming.
Thus, without viable commercial frameworks, OpenRoaming risks being limited to convenience deployments. With scalable settlement capabilities, it becomes a true extension of carrier-grade roaming, enabling secure WiFi to function as part of a broader access strategy.
Where OpenRoaming is making a Difference
The Strategic Future of OpenRoaming
OpenRoaming is positioned at the convergence of major technology trends:
5G and WiFi convergence: Seamless handoff between cellular and WiFi using unified credentials and intelligent network selection.
WiFi 6 and 7 deployments: Newer standards include better Passpoint support, enhanced security with WPA3, improved roaming capabilities, and higher capacity for dense deployments.
IoT explosion: Billions of connected devices need automatic, secure connectivity. OpenRoaming provides scalable authentication for sensors, smart home devices, connected vehicles, and industrial automation.
Smart cities: Municipal WiFi, sensor networks, public safety communications, and digital equity initiatives all benefit from OpenRoaming infrastructure.
Remote work: Distributed workforces need secure connectivity everywhere, making OpenRoaming increasingly essential for employee productivity.
Emerging technologies: Integration with eSIM for easier provisioning, edge computing for local services, AI for intelligent network selection, and evolving identity standards.
Conclusion – From Hotspot to Infrastructure
OpenRoaming represents a fundamental shift in WiFi connectivity, from fragmented, insecure, frustrating experiences to seamless, secure, automatic access. Built on proven standards like Passpoint, 802.1X, and RADIUS federation, it creates an ecosystem where connectivity simply works.
The technology addresses real pain points that have plagued WiFi users for decades while providing enterprise-grade security on public networks. Though challenges remain around adoption, awareness, and business models, the trajectory is clear: WiFi is moving toward a future where connectivity is invisible, automatic, and ubiquitous.
As 5G and WiFi converge, IoT devices proliferate, smart cities deploy, and remote work becomes permanent, OpenRoaming's value proposition only strengthens. We're moving toward a world where "What's the WiFi password?" becomes as outdated as asking for directions to the nearest payphone.
Whether you're a technology professional, an organization evaluating connectivity options, or simply a user tired of WiFi frustrations, understanding OpenRoaming prepares you for the seamless connectivity future that's rapidly arriving. The internet becomes truly ubiquitous, not just available, but automatically accessible.
.svg){kind=small}
