Standards bodies can push for change, but the roaming effort won't be successful if some of the largest wireless Internet service providers opt out. Telecommunications company T-Mobile sells 802.11b access in 2,000 Starbucks coffee shops in the US, making up the largest Wi-Fi network in the United States. It has yet to sign roaming agreements with other wireless service providers, however. T-Mobile is also currently trialling hot-spots in UK Starbucks locations. A T-Mobile spokeswoman didn't return a call for comment. The nation's second-largest carrier, Boingo Wireless, has already established roaming agreements with two other wireless providers and is looking to sign more, said company spokesman Christian Gunning. A Boingo customer can now roam onto the 450 Wayport hot spots inside airport executive lounges as well as onto Surf And Sip networks. Boingo doesn't build new wireless transmission locations, but signs up existing hot spots. It and the company operating the hot spot split any revenue from Boingo users' wireless traffic. Gunning said the company would welcome a new roaming standard, as it would "cut down on the research and development to make sure that every new partner we get can be let on". Overseas leaders
A number of European companies are working on Wi-Fi roaming. Swiss carrier Monzune is already testing a service based on software from Transat, said John Baker, Transat's chief executive. Other European trials are scheduled to begin in the next few months using Transat software, he added. In Japan, Multimedia Mobile Access Communication Systems (MMAC) has also gotten a head start on the IEEE. It was pushed to create a wireless roaming standard by Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, which has begun selling Wi-Fi service to some customers on a trial basis. "The Asian market is getting faster adoption, and the Europeans are next in line," Baker said.
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