SINGAPORE, October 8, 2019 –  ANTlabs has recently been granted the patent for Intelligent Mobile Data Offloading by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This patent relates to offloading mobile data on end user devices to Wi-Fi networks, and the key value proposition of this technology is to ensure that devices offloaded to the Wi-Fi network receive enough network quality for good network usage experience.  

ANTlabs Chief Product Officer, Teck-Kang Toh said, “This latest patent granted is a positive affirmation of ANTlabs’ technology leadership in the Wireless Mobile and Broadband Networking space.  We are committed to continual R&D to create even more cutting-edge innovation, for ANTlabs’ Carrier and Enterprise networking products.”

“This is very relevant today with many Carriers using Wi-Fi networks for mobile data offload.  With the expected uptake of 5G mobile and Wi-Fi 6 networks converging even further, many of our Carrier customers can benefit from this technology to optimize and maximise their network investments,” said Kwang-Tat Ang, VP Customer Solutions for ANTlabs.

About ANTlabs

ANTlabs is a leading technology innovator for guest network
technology and services for 20 years. Established in 1999 and based in
Singapore, ANTlabs products have been used globally in hotels, airports,
telecommunications companies, stadiums and convention centers.

Media Contacts

ANTlabs Product Department
Tel: +65 6858 6789
Email:   media@antlabs.com
URL: www.antlabs.com

Publication Date: 7 July 2019
Last Updated: 27 August 2019

It has come to our attention that some users have been experiencing a delay in loading captive portals on Apple devices. The said delay sometimes takes up to a minute. This behavior has been observed on devices that are on iOS 12. It was also observed that there is no issue on other iOS devices that are on earlier versions, Android, OSX, and Windows devices.

According
to Apple forum discussions, Apple has been informed and has acknowledged the
issue. Although it has not been confirmed officially by Apple, sources say that
it has been partially fixed in iOS 12.4 Beta 3 and additional fixes are
expected in iOS 13. iOS 12.4 is expected to be out in a month, and iOS 13 in
the Fall.

Recommended Action

We have released IG 4 Update #34 which includes improvement on how the gateway handles CaptiveNetworkPortal agent to help speed up the loading of captive portals. Please update your gateways to the latest patch.

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How private can public WiFi get?

It may sound like an oxymoron, but it is possible to get a private, secure, home-like network connectivity while connected to public guest networks such as those that are found in hotels, condos, dormitories, serviced suites, and co-working spaces. ANTlabs created the PAN (Personal Area Network) module for the IG 4 and SG 4 gateways for this very reason: good high-speed Internet access and privacy for each user in a guest network.

Picture this scenario: You just arrived at your hotel straight from the airport and you just want to relax by watching your saved shows on Netflix or play games on your Nintendo Switch on the Smart TV in your hotel room.

When you are
in a hotel guest network, that scenario is not usually as straightforward as sitting
down on your couch and finding your own devices in your own home network, and
then connecting these devices so they could ‘talk’ to one another. What would
most likely happen is that you would search for the SSID of the access point
(AP) where you are supposed to connect to, connect to that, and after that, you
do the same thing for your other devices, and search for the ones that you want
to connect to the Smart TV. Unlike your home network where you only see the
devices that you own, you would most likely be also shown other people’s
devices that are also connected to that AP—and that is usually a very long
list.  Convenience is one thing, but
security is another very significant concern.

In the age of the IoT (Internet of Things) and digital nomads, the need for us and our personal devices to stay connected virtually everywhere is ever-increasing daily. Free, fast, and easy—that is how the ideal WiFi connectivity is for most people. How many people are there who think this way? Let’s get to the numbers.

Out of the
world’s total population of 7.676 billion, 4.388 billion are Internet users,
and 5.112 billion are unique mobile users¹. That is a lot of users
and that data does not even include the other devices users own that also need
to connect to the Internet daily (i.e. IoT devices). According to Gartner’s
forecast², the average number of users or devices supported per
deployed WLAN AP will increase by approximately 20% to 30% from 2018 through
2023. With those figures, it is even more crucial to have privacy, especially when
connected to guest networks and transferring sensitive data (e.g. personal data
or work files) over the Internet. Can hotels, serviced suites, or co-working
spaces provide that kind of privacy for each user? For service providers, is
providing each guest with private networks affordable and easy to implement?

At present, creating numerous SSIDs for each location and providing multiple Internet links for each IoT device type are the most commonly used methods for addressing these concerns but neither exactly answer privacy concerns nor are they easy and cheap to implement. Your guests can still see other devices on the network and the reality is, not all guests are Internet security-conscious enough to safeguard their own devices before connecting to public networks. A security or data breach that happens on your network is the last thing you want to happen. On top of that, the hotel staff must repeatedly adjust or create plans for Internet access provisioning especially during peak seasons or times when there are big events. The cost of training and maintenance is also added to your existing Internet service expenses.

ANTlabs, with 20 years of experience in guest network technology creation and innovation, had these concerns in mind when PAN module was created. This module allows service providers to give a multitude of users with multiple devices their own private networks, where they can manage their devices on their own during their stay, and it works well with ANTlabs’ signature 3-stage Advanced QoS. When these two modules are working together, your hotel staff’s devices, guest room IoT devices and guests’ personal devices can co-exist without sacrificing quality and user privacy. For example, you can set it in a way that with your hotel’s 10 GB pipe, each VIP gets a private network with guaranteed 1 GB bandwidth while your premium guests also get their own private network with 200 MB. Your hotel staff and offices each get a private network with 500 MB while non-staying visitors get 200 MB to share among themselves. Giving your guests peace of mind in knowing that they have their own private networks is one big plus to their total experience.

With PAN Module, there is no more need for multiple Internet links for different IoT device types and your guests shall not see other guests’ devices on your network. This is not only applicable for hotels but also for long-stay serviced apartments, dormitories, condos, shared offices, and other multi-dwelling units. PAN Module will potentially increase network security, protect your staff and guests from privacy intrusion, simplify operations support, and therefore improve the overall user experience in your hotel.

Whether you
are running a small hotel or a chain of hotels around the world, you and your
guests still want the same thing: a good experience—and to help usher in that
kind of experience calls for fast, seamless, and secure connectivity.

Related Articles:

¹ WeAreSocial and Hootsuite^TM (2019) ‘Essential Insights Into How People Around the World Use the Internet, Mobile Devices, Social Media, and E-Commerce’ [PowerPoint presentation]. Available at: https://datareportal.com/reports/?tag=Digital+2019 (Accessed: 7 July 2019).

² Naresh Singh,
Christian Canales, Joe Skorupa, Evan Zeng. (2019). Forecast Analysis:
Enterprise Network Equipment, Worldwide. Connecticut: Gartner.

Singapore, June 17, 2019—ANTlabs Pte. Ltd. launches their smallest full-featured gateway yet at HITEC 2019 in Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA. The IG 4110 is created for smaller properties such as boutique hotels, hostels, healthcare facilities, and small multi-dwelling units (MDU). Hoteliers and property owners can easily pick the modules that they need (e.g. Property Management System, Volume Control, Personal Area Network), and each gateway can handle up to 800 user licenses. This enables smaller properties to scale cost-effectively as they grow.

“IG 4110 is all about reduced total cost of ownership,” said Teck-Kang Toh, the Chief Product Officer of ANTlabs, at HITEC. “Good WiFi connectivity is now expected even at small hotels and this adds up to how guests perceive the quality of their stay. What we are trying to bring across is that hotel owners have the potential to offer the same connectivity as bigger hotels are able to but at a reduced cost.”

IG 4110 is now available through ANTlabs partners, worldwide and it comes with 3 years support.

About ANTlabs

ANTlabs is a leading technology innovator for guest network technology and services for 20 years. Established in 1999 and based in Singapore, ANTlabs products have been used globally in hotels, airports, telecommunications companies, stadiums and convention centers.

Media Contacts

ANTlabs Product Department
Tel: +65 6858 6789
Email:   media@antlabs.com
URL: www.antlabs.com