Wireless consortium pursue roaming protocols: the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance is working hard to establish protocols and agreements to allow customers of one or more wireless service providers (which they are calling WISPs) to freely roam onto other networks. When I interviewed companies late last year and early this year, all the firms I spoke to had roaming high on their list, but technological and billing issues were a bigger issue than the concept of roaming. Everyone wants to expand their networks virtually, especially since most public installations will be exclusive: only one vendor, or possibly two, per location. This means that networks will be a patchwork, not a blanket, which makes roaming even more critical.