Windows 8 and supporting mobile broadband connections directly from your store apps

If you are using properly supported mobile broadband hardware, say, like an integrated 3G card from a laptop vendor together with Windows 8, you might have noticed that no special drivers are needed, the connection is set up automatically, and you also get a Windows 8 Store app installed for you. All this happens automatically, so getting connected is very polished indeed.

Of course, in the curious mind, this raises the question: how is this done? Shortly put, the hardware must comply with suitable device IDs that are part of a database built in into the Windows operating system. This database is called the APN database.

Now, as a hardware/software vendor, you can supply drivers that represent themselves as compatible with the built-in APN database (APN stands for Access Point Name, part of the GPRS/3G/4G specs), you can then use a special XML file to specify how your connection should be configured, and which store app (if any) should be automatically installed for the user.

This all is nicely documented on MSDN, and here's an example APN XML file from the docs:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<OperatorList 
  <Operator name="Contoso">
    <HardwareIdList>
      <HardwareId id="MBAE:0:XSDR^EREDER^F">
      </HardwareId>
    </HardwareIdList>
    <ConnectionInfoList>
      <ConnectionInfo AccessString="ContosoAPN" Username="user"
      Password="pass" FriendlyName="Prepaid Contoso Mobile Broadband"
      Internet="Y" Purchase="N" AutoConnectOrder="1"/>
    </ConnectionInfoList>
  </Operator>
</OperatorList>

If mobile broadband connections sound like your thing, be sure to support the OS built-in features correctly. Here in Finland, the local big-name ISP Saunalahti at least has implemented nice support for their 3G/4G connections for Windows 8. Works well in my experience.