Boingo, Skype Team Up on Mobile VoIP
Boingo and Skype joined forces on Tuesday to launch a new mobile Internet telephony service aimed at business travelers. The new service will offer Skype users Wi-Fi access at Boingo's more than 18,000 hotspots, called Skype Zones.
The Skype Zones service will allow users to make calls at any Boingo hotspot for a $7.95 USD monthly access fee. The two companies will provide software that will connect the user automatically to a hotspot and make a call.
Users will not be able to access the full Internet, however, as doing so would require the purchase of a full account with Boingo.
Boingo has also made deals with other VoIP providers. Earlier this year the company entered into an agreement to co-market Vonage products. Boingo is also attempting to get its software into new Wi-Fi phones which can offer both traditional cellular calling and VoIP calling when a wireless network is available.
"Affordable broadband access is fundamental to open communications, and partnering with Boingo to deliver unlimited Skype access around the world at such a compelling price point will generate new customers for both companies," Niklas Zennstrom, Skype's CEO said.
The Skype Zones service is in beta and is initially available for Windows computers only. Both companies will co-promote the service.
According to recent figures, Skype had 43 million users and was gaining approximately 140,000 new users each day.