Collaborative On-Demand Wi-Fi Sharing

While users can ubiquitously access the Internet via their Wi-Fi network or their mobile carrier network, access to foreign private Wi-Fi networks is mostly prohibited. This is because private APs have no means of authenticating foreign mobile users prior to granting access to their network, entailing severe security and liability risks. However, such Wi-Fi roaming would make the vast network resources of private users available on a collaborative basis. We propose Collaborative On-demand Wi-Fi Sharing (COWS), offering 802.1x-equivalent authentication of foreign users at private APs without the need for elaborate, hierarchical authentication infrastructures. COWS embeds authentication credentials into 802.11 association requests, enabling APs to establish 802.11 AP networks exclusively on-demand and after an authentication of the mobile user at her home network provider. Our evaluation using Android smartphones and various authentication provider instances shows the real-life applicability of COWS, enabling lightweight, collaborative Wi-Fi roaming at the APs of private users.