One of the last remaining independent Wi-Fi hot-spot providers plots $75M IPO this week

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

May 2, 2011

1 Min Read
Boingo Expected to IPO This Week

Boingo Wireless Inc. is planning its $75 million initial public offering (IPO) this Wednesday.

Boingo is one of the last remaining major independent hot-spot providers: The company has more than 211,000 Wi-Fi access points in over 100 countries. It had 191,000 subscribers paying a monthly fee to use Boingo hot spots at the end of September 2010 and, in 2009, the company counted more than 800 million visits to its Boingo access points worldwide, including pay-as-you-go connections.

Boingo has 125 telecom operators amongst its customers, while a number of hardware makers have incorporated its software in their phones and other devices.

Why this matters
Even with the rise of 4G broadband technologies, many mobile carriers still see Wi-Fi off-load as an important part of the strategy for stopping data traffic overloads on their networks.

For instance, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) CTO John Donovan said last week that its hot-spot network -- acquired when it bought Wayport -- now gets 20 million connections a week. (See AT&T Claims to Be a Femtocell Big Spender.)

Additionally, Boingo is not the only mobile-related IPO slated for this week. The Chinese mobile security firm NetQin Mobile Inc. plans to make an offering this Thursday, according to the Nasdaq IPO Summary.

For more
See more on Boingo:



— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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