"Until now WiFi hotspots have been difficult to use and inherently insecure. Our solution works with any WiFi device out of the box and provides fully automatic WPA security," said Björn Smedman, CEO.
The trick is combining WiFi with IP to break the tie between logical network and physical infrastructure, much in the same way as Vo IP separates your phone service from the physical line.
"You can think of it as WiFi over IP," explained Smedman. "Our cloud based matchmaking service keeps track of each device's favourite network and makes sure it is available from the closest access point. By forwarding the raw WiFi radio traffic over the internet we can ensure security, even if an attacker is in control of the access point."
According to the company this high level of security is one of the key features making the technology suitable for integration in modems of various types, and this is what makes it potentially disruptive, effectively turning WiFi into a full-blown 4G technology.
"Today only about 1% to 2% of residential broadband capacity is actually used. The rest just goes to waste. At the same time we are seeing mobile networks brought to their knees under the load of data-hungry devices like the iPhone. If you can guarantee that there is no negative impact whatsoever to the subscriber, why not use some of that spare capacity to offload mobile?" asked Smedman.
Using this reasoning a broadband connection with a WiFi router at the end can be thought of as a building block of sorts and Anyfi.net is the mortar. By combining them, existing infrastructure can be transformed into a radio access network, license-exempt and WiFi compatible.
A fixed line operator with a high density of broadband subscribers in an urban area could become a mobile operator over night by simply upgrading the modem software, something that can be done remotely. Smaller operators could also join together to collectively provide mobile internet access, with worldwide roaming.