US-based wifi provider Boingo Wireless has expanded its global coverage to include five major airports in Japan, on top of more than 200,000 hotspots in the Asia-Pacific region. This has made the company the only international internet service provider for Tokyo International Airport, Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Fukuoka Airport and Nagoya’s Chubu Airport. Boingo customers pay a per-month flat fee to access the network.
Although four of the above airports – with the exception of New Chitose – already offer free public wifi, the connection Boingo offers is more consistent and the network is secured, so customers can trust it for online banking, according to a representative from the company's customer service hotline. The speed of connection through Boingo is "a little faster than 4G", the same rep says.
Boingo Asia Pacific plan costs US$11.95 per month, and users have unlimited wifi access for up to two devices at airports, restaurants, hotels, train stations, 7-11s, shopping malls and conference centers in 26 countries, including China, India, Singapore and Thailand. For a full list of countries/regions, click here. Outside of Asia-Pacific, the user of this plan pays US$0.12 to US$0.18 per minute for access in North and South America, UK, Ireland, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Those who are constantly travelling between continents may opt for Boingo Global plan, which costs US$59 a month and offers some 600,000 hotspots worldwide.
The service will appear as “Boingo_Hotspot” on your wifi-enabled devices. Users can download the Boingo Wi-Finder app – available for smartphones, PCs and Macs – and receive automatic notifications when in range of Boingo hotspots.
Boingo also provides its global roaming network service to Skype, Korea Telecom, Verizon and Orange France customers. The company services 30 per cent of the busiest airports in the Asia Pacific region, including Beijing Capital International Airport (see full story here), Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International and Phuket International Airport, reaching 250 million passengers in total every year.
For more info on plans for different regions, visit www.boingo.com
Yannie Chan
