The Wireless Broadband Alliance and FIDO Alliance have published a trials report demonstrating that factory-provisioned IoT and edge devices can connect automatically to OpenRoaming networks at first power-on and complete secure ownership transfer, removing the manual configuration steps that add cost and delay to large IoT deployments.
The trial combined three standards: OpenRoaming, Passpoint and FIDO Device Onboard (FDO). Under the model tested, device manufacturers provision cryptographic credentials before shipment. When powered on near an OpenRoaming network, the device authenticates automatically and uses that initial secure connection to complete ownership transfer, receive enterprise credentials and configuration, and move to its designated operational network.
The proof of concept confirmed that zero-touch onboarding is technically feasible with factory-based credentials; OpenRoaming acts as the secure bootstrap connection before transitioning to a final enterprise or private network; and FDO manages device identity, ownership transfer and credential delivery. The model also supports device redeployment, allowing reassigned devices to re-onboard into a new environment without manual reconfiguration.
The report identifies areas requiring further work: air-gapped or high-security networks, restricted network segments and resource-constrained devices that cannot run FDO or a Passpoint supplicant directly. The WBA and FIDO Alliance are inviting device manufacturers, enterprises, operators and IoT solution developers to participate in the next phase, which will include multi-vendor trials and industry-specific proofs of concept.
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