Time Warner Cable and Boingo Wireless said they have expanded on a Passpoint WiFi roaming access deal that they announced in June.
Billing it as the “first reciprocal Passpoint roaming agreement in the world,” the deal allows qualified TWC high-speed Internet and Boingo subs to connect to thousands of WiFi hotspots at high-traffic locations, including 25 of the busiest U.S. airports, including Chicago’s O’Hare International (ORD), Los Angeles International (LAX), Austin-Bergstrom International), and John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports.
When the agreement was first announced, it covered more than 100 “Premium” Boingo WiFi locations and about 35,000 TWC WiFi hotspots. As the scope of the deal expands, in time for the holiday travel season, Boingo subs now have access to more than 60,000 TWC hotspots. Qualified users equipped with devices outfitted with Passpoint profiles will be albe to access hotspots emitting the “TWCWiFi-Passpoint” and Boingo “Passpoint Secure” networks.
The Passpoint component brings added security and cellular-like handoff capabilities to WiFi. TWC announced its commitment to Passpoint in April.
“Passpoint technology provides significant value to our customers. Our Passpoint roaming integration with Boingo will keep our users connected to this advanced technology during their travels, helping us provide maximum wireless security to our TWC Internet consumers when they’re surfing the Internet out of home,” said Rob Cerbone, VP of wireless product management for TWC, in a statement.
“The launch of reciprocal Passpoint roaming in the U.S. marks a significant milestone for the wireless industry, but more importantly it makes the best possible WiFi connectivity experience available to even more customers in key locations throughout the U.S.,” added Dr. Derek Peterson, Boingo’s CTO. “Our partnership with TWC gives our customers truly widespread access to simple, seamless and secure WiFi in key markets nationwide.”
