People who travel often, whether it’s a part of their job description or they simply prefer to live a nomadic lifestyle, have no doubt heard of Boingo, a company that provides users with WiFi internet access from over 211,000 hotspots in over 100 countries. As of September 2010 Boingo had 191,000 subscribers paying a monthly fee to use the service, and this provides a majority of their income. Many people, myself included, have used their pay as you go offering for those wretched days when you end up stuck in an airport for more than a few hours at a time.
Founded in 2001, Boingo has only now started turning a profit. During the first 9 months of 2010 they made $1.5 million in profit from nearly $59 million in revenue. Looking to expand, the company has filed the paperwork needed to make their company public. They’ll trade under the stock ticker “WIFI” and the goal is that they’ll end up raising around $75 million. With more and more people carrying rich internet browsers in their pockets, and let’s not forget tablets too, there’s a high probability that Boingo will continue growing at a rapid clip due to the increasing number of internet addicts mobile data generates.
How are operators going to compete? Many of them charge an absurd monthly fee for turning devices into wireless hotspots, despite the fact that hardware manufacturers integrated support for said capability right into their devices. It’s yet another reason why I often recommend people go ahead and purchase an unlocked device and just pop a SIM card inside. You don’t have to deal with the rules operators try and force you to follow, and you don’t have to deal with the software they preinstall on devices that often ruin the experience.
Are you a Boingo subscriber? How reliable is their service and how extensive is their network of hotspots?