Localized authentication for wireless LAN inter-networking roaming

Authentication is an essential premise for deploying wireless LAN inter-network roaming in the real world. The technical challenge lies in the fact that a visited network does not initially have the authentication credentials of a roaming user. Existing solutions require that authentication is performed via three-party communications: user to visited network to home network. In this paper, a new concept that mutual authentication between a visited network and a roaming user can be performed locally without the contact with user's home network is proposed. This new protocol not only satisfies the roaming authentication requirements, but also has efficiency in terms of authentication time delay.