Devicescape UK Wi-Fi Network Reaches 500,000 Hotspots

Devicescape’s curated virtual network (CVN) of Wi-Fi hotspots in the UK now comprises more than 500,000 hotspots, a figure which has doubled in the past year.

Worldwide, the CVN comprises covers more than 20 million hotspots, all of which meet Devicescape’s quality tests.

Whenever a Devicescape-enabled device detects a new hotspot, it is assessed for quality of experience, availability and seamless authentication. If the access point meets Devicescape’s standards, it is added to the CVN.

Devicescape UK CVN

The increase in the UK has been attributed to free Wi-Fi being offered by more retailers and a partnership with Virgin Media which allows customers to access the CVN, and has seen more Devicescape-enabled smartphones add new hotspots to the network. That deal started in February 2014 when the CVN totalled just 17,500 access points in the UK.

“To reach half a million access points in the UK from a standing start in such short order is testament to the unique capabilities of our solution,” said Dave Fraser, CEO, Devicescape. “The rate at which we are able to grow the CVN also reflects the vision and commitment of our operator partners, and we look forward to passing the next milestone in the expansion of the UK CVN.”

Devicescape’s operator partners can offload traffic from their networks onto the CVN and provide customers with additional Wi-Fi access. Last year, all 20 million hotspots in the CVN were added to iPass’ network of curated hotspots, which are used by business customers to reduce roaming costs and simplify the process of logging into public Wi-Fi.