International Wi-Fi roaming will be available

A new WLAN (wireless LAN) roaming service will be available to visitors attending the Cebit trade show in Hanover, Germany, next month.

T-Systems International, the IT services arm of German telecommunications operator Deutsche Telekom, will provide a roaming service to subscribers of WLAN operators connected to its international roaming system, according to Christian Wollner, vice president of carrier solutions at T-Systems.

"When Wi-Fi users go to the Cebit log-on page, they will find a drop-down menu with a list of operators connected to our service," Wollner said. "All they have to do is click the name of their provider and then enter their user name and password. They don't have to worry about buying a prepaid voucher or using their credit card."

WLAN operators may charge their customers a fee for using the international roaming service, according to Wollner. Before traveling to Hanover, users should check whether their provider is connected to the T-Systems roaming system and, if so, what the usage fees are, he advised.

More than 45 WLAN operators from around the world have signed up for the roaming service, according to Wollner. T-Systems manages the authentication, authorization and accounting procedures between providers, eliminating any interconnection and interoperability problems, he said.

Cebit visitors without access to the international roaming service can purchase prepaid vouchers from the show organizer, Deutsche Messe AG. Although rates have remained unchanged from last year, they aren't cheap. One hour costs €10 ($13), four hours €35 and 10 hours €85.

The WLAN network at the show is based on the Wi-Fi standard IEEE 802.11b, supporting up to 11Mbps  in the unlicensed 2.4GHz band. More than 200 access points, or antennas, are installed throughout the exhibition grounds. Service is not available outdoors, in Hall 10 or around the entrance gates.

Exhibitors wishing to set up their own WLANs don't need to register them but are strongly advised by the show organizer to minimize cell size and use the weakest possible transmission power to avoid interference. It's essentially up to the exhibitors to coordinate their WLAN networks by themselves.

Deutsche Messe has decided against offering exhibitors WLAN service as the main source of connectivity at their stands based on a number of factors that may cause interference, it said.