Mobile gateway startup Stoke Inc. is working on new software to make it easier for smartphone users to connect to Wi-Fi networks that should be ready for Mobile World Congress in 2012.

Stoke isn't saying too much about the software before it gets unveiled in Barcelona. New Stoke CTO Dave Williams did tell LR Mobile, however, that the company is working on making Wi-Fi easier in response to RFIs from "five or six major operators." (See Stoke Stacks $17M More .)

Making Wi-Fi connections more seamless and akin to cellular for smartphone users is generally a win for operators. They get to take traffic off their networks without the user having to intercede.

Stoke is not the only player looking at simpler Wi-Fi connections as a selling point for operators. Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) started a trial of Hotspot 2.0 features with Shaw Communications Inc. in Canada last month.

Expect to see a lot of work in this field from many vendors next year.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile