Skype To Offer Global Boingo Powered Wi-Fi Hotspots Access
Skype Users Can Add 18,000 Boingo Hot Spots Via New ?Skype Zones ? Powered by Boingo? Service
LUXEMBOURG & SANTA MONICA, Calif.-/July 12, 2005 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- Boingo Wireless, the leading Wi-Fi aggregator and software company, and Skype, the Global Internet Telephony Company?, announced Skype Zones ? Powered by Boingo service, offering global Wi-Fi access to Skype customers at revolutionary prices.
Skype Zones enables Skype?s more than 45 million users to access Skype?s feature-rich Internet telephony via Boingo?s network of 18,000 Wi-Fi hot spots worldwide using a custom Skype version of the award-winning Boingo Software. Unlimited Wi-Fi access for Skype Internet telephony calls is available for $7.95 per month. Skype Zones is currently a beta service, and terms and availability may change.
Consumers and business travelers benefit from the freedom of low-cost, superior-quality calling while on the move by integrating Wi-Fi access and Skype?s multi-mode communications. Skype users simply log on to the Skype Zones service using the Skype Zones ? Powered by Boingo software, which includes Boingo?s Wi-Fi sniffer, connection management and roaming authentication capabilities. Once connected, users can make Skype calls and access key features such as presence, global user directory, contact lists and instant messages with the Skype software.
?Partnering with Skype demonstrates the evolution of public-access Wi-Fi to include VoIP and other value added applications by allowing greater connectivity and productivity on the move,? said David Hagan, Boingo president and CEO. ?Skype?s convenience and call quality have made it as important to travelers as email, and we expect Skype usage to increase traffic and revenue at our network of hot spots.?
?Boingo is a world-class company that offers Skype users unprecedented global communications mobility and accessibility, at an aggressive, market disrupting price,? said Niklas Zennstr?m, Skype CEO and co-founder. ?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.?
Skype Zones Availability and Pricing
The combined Skype Zones service is available immediately. It is a beta service during which Skype will solicit feedback from users to ensure optimum service delivery and feature enhancements. The Skype Zones client is available for Windows computers and can be downloaded from the Skype store. Monthly access to Skype Zones is $7.95 per month for unlimited Skype access or $2.95 for a 2-hour connection.
A wi-fi hotspots directory of Boingo?s 18,000 hotspots is included in the Skype Zones software.
Skype?s Internet telephony allows free, unlimited Skype to Skype calls as well as inexpensive, seamless connectivity to ordinary fixed and mobile telephones. SkypeOut, Skype?s first premium offering which has more than 1.6 million users, offers global calling at local rates. SkypeIn, currently in beta testing, allows customers to purchase a personal number in their resident country to receive inbound calls to their Skype client, and Skype Voicemail customers can maintain continuous availability with a voicemail box, even while offline. With more than 45 million users, Skype is the leading VoIP-category product worldwide and has enabled more than 10 billion minutes of superior-quality talk time.
About Skype Technologies S.A.
Skype, the Global Internet Telephony Company?, allows people everywhere to make free, unlimited, superior quality voice calls via its award-winning innovative peer-to-peer software for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Pocket PC platforms. Skype is available in 22 languages and is the fastest growing voice communications offering worldwide. Since its launch in August 2003, Skype has been downloaded more than 130 million times. Skype Technologies S.A. is headquartered in Luxembourg and is growing its offices in London and Tallinn. Skype Technologies is privately held and backed by top tier international venture capital firms, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Index Ventures, and Mangrove Capital Partners. http://www.skype.com
About Boingo Wireless
Boingo Wireless, Inc. is an ultra-high-speed wireless Internet service available in thousands of locations such as hotels, airports, cafes, and other public places, in dozens of countries throughout the world. Both directly and through major carrier and ISP partners, Boingo provides business travelers with a wireless broadband Internet connection to improve productivity while on the road. Through its Wi-Fi software and Roaming System, Boingo makes finding and connecting to Wi-Fi networks point-and-click simple and secure. More information about Boingo is available at http://www.boingo.com.
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