Google, Boingo to Roll Out 4,000 Free WiFi Hotspots

WiFi hotspot provider Boingo today announced that it would be rolling out 4,000 free WiFi hotspots across the country thanks to Google. The hotspots will fall under Boingo's own Cloud Nine Media platform, a program that allows brand advertisers to reach consumers through WiFi sponsorships. Users get free internet access and the company paying for it gets the chance to connect with potential customers.

Boingo says that starting this week, users with Android phones and tablets, as well as Windows and Mac laptops, can avail of free WiFi at thousands of hotspots that will be distributed nationwide and sponsored by Google Play. Sponsored locations include 15 airports, such as New York’s John F. Kennedy, Chicago O’Hare and Seattle-Tacoma, as well as Boingo-enabled Manhattan subway stations, and thousands of hotels, shopping malls, cafés and recreational areas.

"Google Play is the first to take part in our newly expanded Wi-Fi sponsorship network, which reaches millions of consumers each month with place-based brand engagements," said Dawn Callahan, vice president of consumer marketing for Boingo Wireless. "Sponsorships like this give users the free Wi-Fi they crave, advertisers the consumer interaction they need, and venues the revenue to offset the costs associated with providing a high-bandwidth Wi-Fi experience."

Google is no stranger to offering free WiFi. In the past, the company has partnered with AirTran, Delta and Virgin America to offer travelers free GoGo WiFi on domestic flights during the holiday season. Boingo says the free WiFi will last through to the end of this September.

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