Together the Hotspot 2.0 and WBA initiatives aim to create advanced Wi-Fi hotspot networks with an improved end-user experience for authentication, security, networkselection and roaming.
The league negotiated the foolproof deal with DTV by saying that merely having the NFL on their networkselection would bring in subscribers, and therefore paying back the annual rights fees in the event of a lockout or strike was unwarranted.
The goal was to establish and encourage the adoption of a common set of standards that would bring a 3G-like end-user experience to Wi-Fi by facilitating an automatic network discovery, selection and authentication of carrier-operated Wi-Fi networks.
The GSM selection ushered into China foreign network equipment and mobile phone vendors (Ericsson and Nokia, by holding important GSM patents, occupied an advantageous position for GSM network and handset development, which left Chinese firms in catch-up mode).