Orion Wi-Fi works with existing commercial and enterprise Wi-Fi equipment from vendors including Cisco, Meraki, CommScope, Fortinet, and Juniper Mist, so venues avoid new hardware costs. It uses the Passpoint and OpenRoaming standards to authenticate subscribers automatically, removing the friction of captive portals.

Carriers can offload subscribers only when network quality meets their thresholds, preserving user experience. Venues gain a new revenue stream tied to foot traffic and network quality while retaining control of their networks.

Orion Wi-Fi launched in September 2020 as an Area 120 project, Google’s in-house incubator for experimental products. The announcement introduced a platform that lets public venues in the United States sell Wi-Fi capacity to cellular carriers.

At launch, Google Fi and Republic Wireless were among the first carriers, and partners included Cisco, CommScope RUCKUS, and Juniper Mist on the equipment side, plus Boingo, 5G LLC, GigaMonster, CA Ventures, and Single Digits for deployment.

Orion Wi-Fi is free for venues to deploy and can be self-configured in under an hour using existing Passpoint-compatible Wi-Fi networks. There are no upfront costs or long-term commitments for signing up.

Venues earn revenue based on foot traffic, network quality, and other factors when carriers choose to offload subscribers onto their Wi-Fi. Google orchestrates carrier relationships and settlements, so venues do not negotiate directly with individual carriers.

Orion Wi-Fi is a Google platform that helps public venues monetize their existing Wi-Fi infrastructure by selling excess capacity to cellular carriers. Venues with Passpoint-compatible networks can enable automatic, secure connections for visitors without installing new hardware or software.

The service targets high-traffic locations such as airports, stadiums, malls, hospitals, and office buildings. It provides venues with analytics on network quality and visitor connectivity while generating revenue based on foot traffic and performance.