Everybody loves a Wi-Fi hot spot – that instant wireless signal that connects most mobile devices to the vast world of online content. But the reality is that connecting to a hot spot is sometimes more trouble than it’s worth.

Sometimes hot spots are crowded with other users, bogging down connection speeds. Other times, logging in can be a drawn-out, intrusive registration process that compromises your privacy and time. Even worse, if a Wi-Fi hot spot connection is less-than-secure, checking your bank balance or making an online purchase could be a risky move.

The  antidote to many of these Wi-Fi woes is right in your living room —the DOCSIS 3.0-enabled cable set-top box or media gateway containing Broadcom’s technology. Coupled with specialized software, Broadcom is helping cable operators to offer on the go Wi-Fi hot spots – dubbed Community Wi-Fi as a new service to their subscription customers. European cable operators can see the technology in action at the International Broadcasting Convention, the continent’s leading trade show taking place this week in Amsterdam.

How it Works

Here’s how: Home cable subscribers use a media gateway – or an in-home device of some sort – that emits a Wi-Fi signal. The most familiar scenario involves connecting devices – whether a computer, smartphone, tablet or even a gaming console – to that Wi-Fi connection with a passcode.

Under this new Community Wi-Fi scenario, a friend who stops by your home – and who is also a subscriber of your cable company – would be able to instantly tap into the Wi-Fi signal in your home. Here’s the plus side: Your friend doesn’t need a password to join because it’s not actually your personal Wi-Fi network that he is using to access the Internet. Instead, it’s a secondary, open Wi-Fi connection that’s being made available to the cable company’s customers, via your home connection.

And by the way, that works the same if your local coffee shop – or the people who live in the apartments above it – are on that cable company’s customer list.

“It’s a convenience item that the cable companies can offer, making joining a Wi-Fi network easy and at no cost to their customers,” said Brian Wheeler, senior product line manager for the Broadband Communications Group at Broadcom.

Such Community Wi-Fi hot spots are already being put in action in the U.S. and Europe. Time Warner Cable recently rolled out a program in Southern California. And the Netherlands’ biggest cable operator, Ziggo, launched a similar trial  as a test for a wider implementation.

“Broadcom’s technology provided us with an essential building block in our approach to supplying customers with Wi-Fi beyond their homes,” Paul Hendriks, Ziggo’s CTO said in a statement. “We are currently running a pilot to gain experience with larger groups of customers in a realistic urban setting.”

Security and Authentication

Typical public Wi-Fi hot spots – say, in your neighborhood coffee shop – have iffy security.

By using a cable connection, subscribers are guaranteed a safer, more secure surfing experience.

“We have enabled the highest level of security between your computer and the cable gateway,” Broadcom’s Wheeler said. “Once the traffic reaches the cable gateway it is then tunneled back to a server at the service provider, where it manages all the security. They have dedicated infrastructure just for this type of traffic to alleviate those types of security concerns.”

Secure Wi-Fi can get even more locked down with multiple users tapping into a home network, where Broadcom enables the traffic of the home user to be isolated from that of guest users, adding  an additional level of security, Wheeler said.

Community  Wi-Fi streamlines the login process for the user—do it once, and you’re set. Your mobile devices can store your credentials and will automatically connect you to the nearest neighboring Community Wi-Fi connection. This, in turn, helps offload some of the traffic from your mobile phone provider’s network and cuts down on data plan usage fees.

“Once you authenticate, you can store your credentials in your phone,” Wheeler said. “For instance, anytime your phone finds a Time Warner hot spot, you can immediately switch over and transfer IP data, which will help reduce the mobile data loading on your 3G or 4G network.”

Not only do cable customers get the benefits of Community Wi-Fi, but cable operators get a boost, too.

It helps them compete with the large telecom companies and wireless carriers offering bundled, in-home services.

It’s an attractive add-on feature that doesn’t cost operators a lot in terms of investment to deploy because Broadcom integrates functionality into existing gateway chips, said Jay Kirchoff, vice president of marketing for the Broadband Communications Group at Broadcom.

“They already have the tools and the infrastructure in their networks,” he  said. “They just need the software from Broadcom to enable this seamlessly .”

Expect to see cable operators roll out Community Wi-Fi in Europe and North America by the end of next year.

To learn more about Broadcom’s cable and IPTV innovations, follow our coverage of IBC.

Can’t make it to Amsterdam? Follow @Broadcom on Twitter and Facebook to catch all the IBC news this week.  Keep tabs on the show with the #IBCshow  hashtag to experience the merger of broadcasting and the Internet live from the show floor.

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