Boingo's Wi-Fi net puts roots down in Asia-Pacific

Boingo Wireless has signed roaming agreements with Singapore telcos and is now looking for more

Denise Pappalardo (Network World)
30 October, 2006 08:05
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Boingo Wireless announced last week that it is further expanding its Asia-Pacific presence by inking agreements with three providers in that region.

Boingo, a Wi-Fi network aggregator, has 61,801 hot spots from 140 Wi-Fi service providers around the globe.

The service provider now has roaming agreements with Singapore Telecom and StarHub , both based in Singapore.

The SingTel agreement adds 347 hot spots to Boingo's network. The service provider has wireless LAN access points in high-traffic shopping areas, Starbucks, Burger King, libraries and hotels, Boingo says.

"This partnership is another step in our aggressive expansion of the Boingo network throughout the Asia-Pacific region, as we continue to answer the communications needs of our business customers traveling through major commerce hubs," said Allen Pan, Boingo director in Asia, in a statement.

StarHub's network of hot spots total 150 and include such key locations as Singapore Changi Airport and the Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Center.

Boingo also announced a roaming agreement with Innove Communications , a fully owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom. Innove has a network of 300 hot spots throughout the Philippines. Key locations include Davao International Airport, the Mactan International Airport, high-traffic shopping areas, the financial district in Glorietta, hotel chains and Starbucks and other large coffee house chains in the country.

The Wi-Fi aggregator has been trying to establish a strong presence in Asia-Pac and has roaming agreements in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. Boingo added hot spots to these places - in Taiwan in April and July , in Korea in May and in Malaysia in July .

Other service providers, including BT Infonet, EarthLink and Verizon Business, offer their customers Wi-Fi services using Boingo's network of aggregated Wi-Fi hot spots. Boingo also offers customized client software and a suite of back-office billing, roaming, mediation and clearinghouse services, the company says.