Boingo and Sprint Partner to Make Wi-Fi Seamless at 35 Major U.S. Airports

Boingo and Sprint have partnered to provide seamless auto-authentication on Boingo’s managed and operated Wi-Fi networks at 35 major U.S. airports.

The service will be available to up to 40 million of Sprint’s smartphone users. When Sprint’s smartphone customers are within range of a Boingo Wi-Fi network, the system will automatically connect the customer’s smartphone to the Boingo network, with no intervention required by the smartphone user.

Automated access will also be available for Boingo’s “Passpoint Secure” network with WPA2 enterprise-grade encryption.

“It is clear that with skyrocketing mobile data traffic on cellular networks, the need for carrier Wi-Fi offload has now arrived,” says David Hagan, Chief Executive Officer of Boingo Wireless. “This is a milestone we have been working toward for years, and we believe this agreement is just the first step in what’s to come. True, seamless Wi-Fi offload is here.”

The company reports that, on average, Boingo Passpoint users connect to Wi-Fi three times more often and stay connected three times longer than average users. The auto-authenticating Boingo Wi-Fi connections are available to Sprint smartphone customers at no additional charge and usage of Boingo Wi-Fi does not count towards the Sprint customer’s monthly service plan.

“With Wi-Fi being the world’s largest wireless ecosystem, we view it as a highly complementary layer to our network,” said Stephen Bye, Sprint CTO. “By enabling customers to move seamlessly between secure Wi-Fi and cellular, our customers will have a better mobile experience in more locations, all while lowering their cost of data usage.”

Boingo locations with Passpoint Secure networks include the following airports:

Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS)
Baltimore-Washington International (BWI)
Buffalo Niagara International (BUF)
Burbank – Bob Hope International (BUR)
Chicago – Midway International (MDW)
Chicago – O’Hare International (ORD)
Detroit – Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
Los Angeles International (LAX)
Louisville International Airport (SDF)
Memphis International (MEM)
Milwaukee – General Mitchell International (MKE)
Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP)
Nashville International (BNA)
New York – John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
New York – La Guardia International (LGA)
New York – Stewart International (SWF)
Newark Liberty International (EWR)
Oakland International OAK)
Oklahoma City – Will Rogers International (OKC)
Omaha – Eppley Airfield (OMA)
Providence – T.F. Green Airport (PVD)