Marriott International has caved under the public outcry over its Wi-Fi blocking policies. On Wednesday the hotel chain said it would no…
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UK hotspot startup Purple WiFi raises $5M
Purple WiFi is a wireless hotspot company that doesn’t own any hotspots. Instead it has built a virtual network of business Wi-Fi…
Read MoreTime Warner Cable, Boingo turn on Hotspot 2.0
Time Warner Cable and wireless ISP Boingo signed a roaming deal in June, which allows TWC’s broadband customers to use Boingo’s Wi-Fi hotspots at…
Read MoreHow Fon is building a social layer on top of Wi-Fi, starting with music
Fon's new Gramofon router/cloud music player is just the beginning of the company's foray beyond Wi-Fi. Speaking at Gigaom's Structure Connection conference, COO Alex Puregger said Fon is exploring payments and advertising services.…
Read MoreCarrier Wi-Fi specialist Accuris raises $15M, grabs a new CEO
Carriers are taking a bigger interest Wi-Fi, using the unlicensed technology to offload their data traffic and handle VoIP calls. Consequently, interest in companies like Accuris is increasing.…
Read MoreFon begins beta testing a business Wi-Fi network
Fon hopes to expand beyond its residential hotspots into coffee shops, retail stores and dentist offices across the world. It's launching a new beta program and Fonera router for businesses starting today.…
Read MoreD-Link’s newest router provides Wi-Fi access in return for a Facebook check-in
Wi-Fi hotspot sign-in with Facebook was announced last year and now there's a new router that uses the service: Just check-in to your location on Facebook and you're online for free.…
Read MoreBoingo supports the troops with IPTV, winning contracts to connect U.S. military bases
Boingo’s(s wifi) acquisition of military base ISP Endeka appears to paying dividends. Boingo revealed this week that it has won contracts with…
Read MoreKarma brings its community broadband experiment to LTE
Karma is building a community of mobile broadband users who share their connections without sharing their data. It's attracted 50,000 users so far, a number it hopes to boost as it moves to Sprint's LTE network.…
Read MoreCricket connects its smartphones to Devicescape’s growing Wi-Fi network
Cricket parent Leap Wireless has become the latest carrier to join Devicescape's curated virtual hotspot network. Rather than build hotspots themselves, Leap and other regional and rural operators are tapping the world of open Wi-Fi.…
Read MoreComcast mimics Fon, creating a crowdsourced hotspot network in millions of homes
Comcast plans to crowdsource its Wi-Fi network, turning millions of home gateways into public hotspots. It's a revolutionary, and probably controversial, move that could benefit its customers immensely -- as long as it doesn't pimp out their broadband connections.…
Read MoreEricsson, Nokia Siemens lay the groundwork for HetNet with new Wi-Fi technology
The heterogenous network will eventually allow our devices to connect to Wi-Fi and cellular networks simultaneously, but first those networks need to coordinate with one another.…
Read MoreNew Yorkers can now get cellular signals in 30 more subway stations
It took two years, but New York's MTA has expanded its subway station distributed antenna system pilot from six to 36 stops. Now there's just 241 stations to go.…
Read MoreMultilevel marketing MVNO Flash Wireless uses Wi-Fi to expand data reach
ACN's wireless arm Flash may not have the most compelling rates today, but with a new deal with Devicescape it may be setting the stage for cheaper data plans in the future.…
Read MoreBoingo’s global footprint expands with 55,000 Japanese hotspots
NTT DoCoMo is letting Boingo's customers onto its 55,000-node strong hotspot network in Japan, increasing Boingo's presence there to 60,000 hotspots. In turn DoCoMo customers get access to Boingo's network of 600,000 hotspots.…
Read MoreTelkom Indonesia bets big on Wi-Fi, plans 100,000 access points
Using Cisco gear, PT Telkom will build an offload network in schools, malls, hotels and hotspot clusters to ease the mobile data burden on its cellular networks. 100,000 node is huge, but it's the second network of its size in Asia.…
Read MoreComcast binges on Wi-Fi hotspots in California
Comcast's Wi-Fi network has pulled up stakes and is heading west to make its fortune in San Francisco and other California cities. The cable operators said it has deployed a "few thousand" hotspots around the state though the greatest concentration is in the Bay Area.…
Read MoreU.S. Cellular builds a virtual Wi-Fi network with Devicescape
U.S. Cellular has added Wi-Fi to its mobile data toolbox. But rather than build or lease time on expensive managed hotspot networks, the Chicago carrier is working with Devicescape to tap into its virtual network of nearly 8 million open access points.…
Read MoreData hogs rejoice! T-Mobile brings back the unlimited data plan
T-Mobile is reinstating the unlimited plan for smartphones with just one restriction: you can't use your phone as a hotspot. Anything else is fair game. T-Mobile insists that the new policy is viable business model, despite what AT&T and Verizon say to the contrary.…
Read MoreConnectify combines Wi-Fi, 4G into a superfast wireless pipe
Philadelphia startup Connectify has turned to Kickstarter to raise funds for its latest PC connection management project. It's developing software that will allow a PC to aggregate multiple broadband connections, ranging from Wi-Fi to 4G, into a single a high-bandwidth link.…
Read MoreBoingo gravitates toward “free” Wi-Fi with Cloud Nine purchase
As consumers begin chaffing at the prospect of paying for Wi-Fi in public spaces, Boingo is revamping its business model through a strategic acquisition. It's acquiring sponsored Wi-Fi access firm Cloud Nine to help it set up ad-supported free access to hotspots around the country.…
Read MoreHow O2 is using the Olympics to lay a foundation for small cells
The U.K.'s O2 has launched a 100-hotspot Wi-Fi network just in time for the Olympics, offering up its capacity to all takers gratis. But there's something else under the hood of these Ruckus access points: a slot waiting for a future O2 small cell.…
Read MoreAmazon limits monthly Kindle browsing over 3G to 50 MB
Amazon changed the game when it offered 3G access in its Kindle e-readers at no charge. That connection is great to have, but those who use it to browse the web won't be happy: Amazon now limits that Internet on-ramp to just 50 MB per month.…
Read MoreBouygues launches free Wi-Fi to challenge Free Mobile
France's Bouygues Telecom is working with virtual hotspot network Devicescape to give its smartphone customers seamless access to 8 million open Wi-Fi access points globally, replicating – at least fractionally – one of the key differentiators Iliad’s Free Mobile has on the competition: a 4 million-node offload network.…
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