iPass customers will soon be able to roam onto T-Mobile's UK network using their existing credentials, should they be too far from a Wi-Fi hotspot and wanting faster speeds than a satellite connection can provide.

iPass is a connection aggregator: companies, and individuals, can sign up for iPass credentials which let them connect to the iPass network (and thus the internet) over a variety of technologies including Wi-Fi, cellular and, now, satellite. Connection hardware isn't provided, but the identity and account management is; making life much simpler for companies trying to deal with the plethora of connectivity mechanisms their staff might be using these days.

iPass already has deals with US cellular providers, but UK users have until now been limited to Wi-Fi connections, where available. The deal with T-Mobile will allow users contiguous connectivity in the UK, while anyone wandering somewhere more inhospitable can rely on the Inmarsat connectivity - for 85 per cent of the Earth's surface, anyway.

This kind of connection aggregation is a good field to be in: iPass is well placed to take advantage of new technologies as they are deployed, without taking the risk of actually deploying them, and anything that makes account administration easier is to be applauded. ®

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• iPass Q2 profits slide 26.7 per cent (29 July 2005)
• iPass to offer Net access via non-affiliated hotspots (27 June 2005)
• iPass aggregates BT Openzone hotspots (13 December 2004)
• iPass to link phones, PDAs to corporate LANs (27 October 2004)
• iPass touts network access policy devolution (21 July 2004)