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Mobile phone redefined: Boing Wireless to offer cheap Wi-Fi access for Skype usage
July 12, 2005;
What is mobile phone? A device for mobile telephony. It doesn't have to be cellular telephone that works with cellular networks. It may be also a Pocket PC PDA with Skype client in it and connecting to Wi-Fi network...

Skype and Boingo Merge Internet Telephony and Global Wi-Fi Access

Skype Users Can Add 18,000 Boingo Hot Spots Via New “Skype Zones – Powered by Boingo” Service

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 Zennström, 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.”

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