India has a great vision and aspiration to bring connectivity to the common man with initiatives like Smart City. But considering that only 30 percent of Indians have Internet connectivity, as opposed to the 95 percent in developed countries, we still have a long way to go. Indians can only spare $15 for Internet connectivity, ten percent less than what the rest of the world spends. In sharp contrast to expensive cellular data plans, Wi-Fi has the capability of reaching the masses. Prominent among Wi-Fi networks is iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS).

Enabling always-on connectivity across more than 100 countries, the Silicon Valley-headquartered company utilizes predictive analysis to connect users automatically to the best possible hotspot in its network. iPass has developed a great footprint by aggregating the networks of about 160 different partners, like TATA and British Telecom. Recently adding 30 million hotspots to its network, iPass' total hotspot count is now 50 million, making the iPass footprint more than twice the size of the company's nearest competitor.

iPass SmartConnect - Secure, Cost-Effective & Convenient Technology

With more than 40 patents and another 19 pending in eight countries, iPass has been connecting mobile users since its founding in 1996. iPass recently launched iPass SmartConnect with enhanced user security via last mile VPN tunnelling between the user and iPass' secure Internet gateway. iPass SmartConnect will create a global graph of hotspots, classifying the relative performance and reliability of each hotspot. In addition to mapping iPass hotspots, iPass SmartConnect will also aggregate anonymous usage data on hotspots not yet part of the iPass network. By having a better understanding of customer behaviour patterns, iPass will be able to add those new hotspots that meet its criteria, while blacklisting those that fail to meet its criteria. "We use the data to unearth the high quality hotspots that match our customer's expectations. Amongst them, we connect with the one that costs us the least. This enables us to continuously drive down connectivity costs," explains Rajani Kolli, VP - Global Cloud Operations, iPass.

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