MobileBeat: Anyfi pitches an answer to mobile network capacity woes

Anyfi Networks is one of 20 promising startups included in the MobileBeat 2010 Startup Competition and is in the running for one of two coveted Tesla Awards.

Noting the fact that 98 percent of fixed broadband capacity goes unused, Swedish startup Anyfi Networks is in the process of patenting technology that turns broadband network operators’ spare capacity into mobile broadband. Considering how limited mobile network capacity has become, this could be a major development.

“More capable handsets combined with growing consumer interest in online video is already pushing mobile networks over the limit,” the company says. “The resulting network [boosted by Anyfi] could deliver many orders of magnitude more capacity than a cellular network at a fraction of the cost.”

The key to the solution is a software extension for Wi-Fi access points, allowing Wi-Fi to be distributed with WPA encryption.

Here’s an example of the startup’s system at work. Say you live in New York City and your internet service provider is Cablevision, which has 20,000 Wi-Fi hotspots you can use for free, and partnerships with Time Warner and Comcast allowing you to use their hotspots for free too. The Anyfi.net Wi-Fi roaming solution would allow all three cable companies to not only provide secure Wi-Fi at all those hotspots, but also through almost every cable modem in New York.

“For end users, it is affordable, no fuss, all-you-can-eat internet access on any Wi-Fi-equipped device anywhere there is broadband, charged to your regular bill,” the company says.

In the short-term Anyfi will license its technology to Wi-Fi equipment vendors and roaming service providers. The long-view strategy is to share revenue with operators per end-user. For now, it plans to launch its first major network early next year.

This year alone, AT&T is expected to spend $2 billion more to solve network congestion problems. Network quality is quickly becoming a differentiator between carriers that could shift millions if not billions of dollars in one direction or another.

“The big broadband providers haven’t done this yet because they didn’t know it was possible to combine ease of use, security, traceability and worldwide roaming without any changes to the client device,” says Anyfi founder Björn Smedman. “It took us over 2,000 man-hours of R&D to even realize, and many more to patent and implement.”

Anyfi is keeping a close eye on potential competitors also working to fix congestion issues, particularly LTE femtocell companies like Airwalk, Airvana and Ubiquisys.