RemotePipes has launched the WiMax Global Roaming Alliance (WGRA). The body will serve commercial entities, state and city governments, WISPs, equipment manufacturers, and other organizations. The group will work to pormote simplified distribution of competitive, ubiquitous wireless broadband services in major metropolitan areas and rural areas. It will also work on streamlining production, authentication, and accounting functions between network operators in the production environment, ensuring uniform and consistent user processes between networks. The WGRA will focus on building consensus among members in order to facilitate the roaming and interoperability procedures for networks based on the 802.16 specifications.

Eric Engbers, president of RemotePipes and chairman of the new alliance, said that the hundreds of local and regional network operators, along with equipment suppliers and carriers around the world, could together "develop consensus and organize uniform, consistent, standards-based network implementations as a proper foundation for a best of breed roaming experience for users." He said that by addressing these needs early in the WiMax lifecycle, WiMax companies could avoid "the substantial burdens experienced when other solutions have transitioned to being roaming enabled."

Doug Bonestroo, CEO of RemotePipes, said, "We revolutionized the SOHO and SME marketplace for global dial-up and WiFi Internet access services and we are going to be a disruptive force for WiMax connectivity for mobile and nomadic users. We realize that the larger telecom providers have a virtual lock on the EV-based 3G marketplace and that the best way to counter that leverage is with a large group of partners in the US and around the world that are committed to standards based WiMax roaming."

Bonestroo revealingly added: "We will welcome any carriers that want to join the effort, but unlike industry groups striving to make WiMax appear complimentary [sic] to 3G, we will continue to view it as a directly competitive offering."

For more on the WGRA:
- see the press release
- and the sites of WiMaxGRA | RemotePipes | IPRoamer

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