Boingo and Google Offer Free Wi-Fi in 4,000 Locations

kessben September 12, 2012

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Boingo Wireless, one of the largest Wi-Fi providers in the world, will team up with Google to bring free Wi-Fi to more than 4,000 hotspots across the U.S. for the month of September.
Through Google Play, the web-search giant will partner with Boingo to give Wi-Fi connections free of charge. In turn, these hotspots will enable advertisers to reach a big audience of consumers in a global advertising network. In other words, Google targeted ads will subsidize your free connection. Normally, unlimited access to Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots costs $10 a month, and there are also different hourly rates depending on the location.
According to a statement announcing the initiative, the Wi-Fi hotspots will be available to “users with Android phones and tablets, as well as Windows and Macintosh laptops.” The announcement doesn’t mention iOS devices like the iPhone or the iPad, hinting that those Apple products won’t be supported.
The California-based Wi-Fi giant acquired in August the advertising firm Cloud Nine Media, which offered free, ad-supported Wi-Fi networks in 6,000 locations across the world. This initiative is the first fruit of that acquisition.
“Google Play is the first to take part in our newly expanded Wi-Fi sponsorship network, which reaches millions of consumers each month with place-based brand engagements,” said Dawn Callahan, vice president of consumer marketing for Boingo Wireless, in a statement. “Sponsorships like this give users the free Wi-Fi they crave, advertisers the consumer interaction they need, and venues the revenue to offset the costs associated with providing a high-bandwidth Wi-Fi experience.”
The new ad-supported hotspots will be distributed across the country in airports such as New York’s John F. Kennedy and Chicago’s O’Hare, as well as some subway stations in Manhattan “and thousands of hotels, shopping malls, cafés and recreational areas.”
This is not the first time Boingo and Google have offered free Wi-Fi. During the summer Google Offers sponsored hotspots across New York City, including in six subway stations.