Hotspot 2.0

Hotspot 2.0, also known as Passpoint, is a service provider feature that assists with carrier offloading.

Meraki APs can be configured to send IEEE 802.11u-based network information, where a phone client device gathers necessary information by using Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) messages. The 802.11u-enabled phone clients discover and select a target AP based on information gathered during the pre-association stage from an 802.11u-enabled AP. A phone client has pre-provisioned network information such as home OI Information, realm name and domain name, presented as a configuration file inside the phone client device. In addition, the phone client device may obtain home network information using the IMSI data derived from the inserted SIM/USIM card.

The 802.11u AP provides information listings with the HotSpot owner details, roaming partners, realm list, 3GPP cellular information, and domain name. The realm list also provides listings of the realm name and its associated EAP authentication type mappings. This information is essential for the phone client device, so the correct EAP credential exchange may take place.

There are many devices that support Hotspot 2.0, such as the Samsung Galaxy-S4, iPhone, and Intel Centrino 6230 WiFi chipset, and various types of phone client devices. A Hotspot 2.0 configuration example for an iPhone with a basic information set can be found here.