WBA and FIDO Alliance validate zero-touch Wi-Fi onboarding for IoT devices
Connecting hundreds or thousands of devices securely can require substantial manual intervention, particularly when equipment is deployed across multiple locations, networks and administrative domains. By combining OpenRoaming, Passpoint and FIDO Device Onboard (FDO), IoT and edge devices can establish secure connectivity at first power-on, initiate ownership transfer and receive the credentials and configuration needed for their operational environment without requiring technicians to configure each device individually.
The trials demonstrate how this approach can establish a repeatable onboarding process that reduces credential handling and deployment complexity while allowing enterprises to retain control over where devices ultimately connect.
Tiago Rodrigues, president and CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, said the initiative represents an important step in extending OpenRoaming to IoT and edge computing applications.
“By combining OpenRoaming’s secure, interoperable connectivity with FIDO Device Onboard, we have shown how devices can establish a trusted first connection, begin automated onboarding and then transition to their designated operational network,” Rodrigues said.
He added that the collaboration between the Wi-Fi, identity, manufacturing and IoT ecosystems provides a standards-based foundation for further interoperability testing, product development and real-world trials. These efforts could reduce deployment overhead and strengthen device security at scale.
Under the proposed model, manufacturers can provision devices with cryptographically bound credentials before shipping them. When a device is powered on within range of an OpenRoaming-enabled network, it authenticates automatically and uses the initial connection to access its onboarding services.
The trials demonstrated the technical feasibility of zero-touch IoT onboarding, allowing devices to connect to OpenRoaming networks without manual Wi-Fi configuration. OpenRoaming provides secure initial connectivity before devices transition to their designated enterprise, industrial or private networks.
FIDO Device Onboard manages device identity, ownership transfer and the delivery of network credentials, security policies and application configurations. The model also incorporates manufacturing into the trust framework by enabling device-bound certificates and credentials to be provisioned securely before shipment.
In addition, the approach supports redeployment. Devices assigned to a new site or owner can be securely onboarded into a different operational environment without extensive manual reconfiguration.
OpenRoaming serves as a secure bootstrap layer rather than determining a device’s permanent network assignment. FDO manages device identity and ownership transfer, then delivers the credentials, policies and configuration required for normal operation.
Once onboarding is complete, the device can leave the initial connection and join its designated enterprise, industrial, private or other operational network. Separating initial access from final network placement allows organizations to automate deployment while retaining control over local security policies and network access.
The proof of concept was implemented by VinCSS using a Linux-based Raspberry Pi as a representative onboarding device. It was designed to validate the initial end-user and device onboarding workflow.
Private keys were stored in a secure hardware element and were never exported. When powered on, the device automatically connected to an available OpenRoaming network and initiated the FDO TO1 and TO2 ownership-transfer workflow. The trial successfully validated the initial FDO provisioning stage of the WBA OpenRoaming for IoT model.
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