| 4/8/08 - iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS) announced it has added the municipal wireless network encircled by Tokyo's Yamanote Line to the iPass global network as part of a roaming agreement with Tokyo-based, livedoor Co. Ltd. With more than 2,000 access points spanning over 60 square kilometers, this Wi-Fi network is one of the largest in the world.
The world's tenth largest city by population, Tokyo ranked as the world's third busiest city in terms of Wi-Fi use, behind London and New York, according to the iPass Mobile Broadband Index. Usage is only expected to increase. In its recent report, "Worldwide Mobile Worker Population 2007-2011 Forecast," IDC predicts that the Japanese mobile worker population will reach 52.8 million by 2011, and, at 79.6 percent, Japan will have the largest percentage of mobile workers of any country in the world. The livedoor Wireless network is now available to more than one million quarterly users of iPass services. The enterprise mobility management benefits of the iPass Mobile Office service extend to this network, including features designed to protect devices, session data and user credentials; embedded mobile device management, detailed usage reporting and consolidated global billing. iPass' global footprint now includes metropolitan Wi-Fi networks in a variety of cities including Sydney, London, New York City, Seoul and Taipei. The Yamanote Line is Tokyo's busiest and most important commuter line. A circle route, it connects most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centers including the Ginza area, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. The iPass service will be available to the more than 3.6 million commuters that travel the Yamanote line on a daily basis, as well as anyone within the 23 square-mile urban area covered by the network. "iPass has a strong base of business customers that work in or travel to Tokyo," said Mr. Tomoki Terui, Vice President of livedoor. "The ability to connect while in and around Tokyo will enable these users to be more productive while they are in the city. We are pleased to welcome iPass users to the livedoor wireless network." As part of the integration process, livedoor's wireless mesh network was certified through the iPass Enterprise Ready program. This process helps ensure that the network will deliver the high quality of service that iPass' business customers demand by testing the network for speed and reliability. It also ensures interoperability with corporate security tools, such as virtual private networks, personal firewalls and anti-virus software. "Around the world we've seen a substantial rise in the business use of Wi-Fi at train stations as workers find value in connecting and getting work done while commuting," said Loy Chee Leng, Managing Director for iPass Asia Sales. "By partnering with livedoor, we are able to offer secure, manageable, enterprise-grade access to customers who do business in Tokyo, whether they are commuting to the office or are on a business trip. Additionally, iPass business users visiting this global economic center can now obtain the same high-quality service they have come to rely on while traveling the globe." iPass has the world's largest multi-technology virtual network of more than 95,000 active Wi-Fi hotspots as well as support for 3.5G, 3G and 2.5G mobile broadband and dial-up in more than 160 countries.
Want to learn more about wireless technologies?
Keywords: wi-fi accsss points, roaming agreement, yamanote line, mobile office service, mobile device management, ipass service, ipass services, city seoul, global footprint, ginza area, square kilometers, global billing, commuter line, mobile worker, daily basis, tomoki, management benefits, ipas, 3G |
