(2007-07-01) Boingo Wifi Roaming

Tom Evslin on Boingo's worldwide WiFi roaming plan which allows unlimited access through any of its 100,000+ HotSpot-s worldwide for a flat monthly fee of $39... Right now mobile data service - like the Verizon $59.95 unlimited plan which I use in the US - have better coverage in any one country than Boingo does. The Verizon service, however, works almost nowhere outside the US. GSM-based mobile data plans can work outside the host country but are subject to huge per minute roaming charges... Most Boingo hotspots are actually operated by affiliates like BT, Earth Link, Verizon Business, Telecom Italia, and a host of no names. If you've used WiFi services provided by a hotel, there's a good chance that it's either provided by or affiliated with Boingo... Last month Boingo announced a deal with FON which will add the 130,000 (and growing) Fonero-operated hotspots to the Boingo network.

Boingo is also making a direct assault on the voice business of the mobile carriers - especially the lucrative International Roaming portion (the expensive part if you're the one roaming). For just $7.95/month, you get unlimited use of a subset of the Boingo network for handheld connectivity - the most obvious application is VoIP. You need to have a mobile phone which supports WiFi (but you will have this soon).