Sprint’s Wi-Fi Offloading Increases To 22 Million Users

According to Boingo Wireless, the Wi-Fi offloading partner of Sprint, there are around 22 million Sprint subscribers who are now moving onto Boingo Wireless’ Wi-Fi network in more than 30 airports across the United States. Boingo further added that it now has support for all of Sprint’s Android and iOS mobile users, and it is planning to expand its support even to Sprint’s subsidiary brands, including its prepaid arms such as Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. While 22 million is an impressive figure, Boingo Wireless is expecting to ultimately provide support for up to 40 million of Sprint’s subscribers.

Boingo Wireless also took the opportunity to state that another tier one wireless carrier in the US will be joining Sprint in offloading its traffic to Boingo’s Wi-Fi network. This should commence within the first six months of 2016. As explained by David Hagan, chief executive officer of Boingo Wireless, critical to the success of the offloading was the testing of each venue as well as every platform to ensure that the quality of the network remains consistent, which includes being able to achieve VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) over Wi-Fi without having to worry about any loss in voice call transmission.

More significantly, Boingo has revealed that its wholesale Wi-Fi earnings during the final quarter of 2015 have topped $6.8 million. This figure represents a rise of 82.9 percent compared to the figure the company posted during the fourth quarter of the previous year. Peter Hovenier, chief financial officer of Boingo Wireless, attributes this whopping increase mainly to boosted partner usage based fees made possible through contracts with major US wireless carrier Sprint and banking giant American Express.

Executives of Boingo Wireless will not provide exact details regarding its contract with Sprint, and the amount of data Sprint is offloading to Boingo’s Wi-Fi network also remains under wraps. But the company did note that back in 2013, the average customer of Boingo Wireless used 35 megabytes a session. Fast forwarding to this year, that figure has now ballooned to 300 megabytes a session.

Right before the summer of 2015, Sprint had signed a multi year agreement with Boingo Wireless to offload its subscribers’ data traffic to Boingo Wireless’ Wi-Fi networks at 35 major airports in the US. The list of airports include:

• Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
• Billings Logan International Airport (BIL)
• Nashville International Airport (BNA)
• Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
• Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF)
• Bob Hope Airport - Burbank, CA (BUR
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT
• Dallas Love Field (DAL)
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM)
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• LaGuardia International Airport - Central Terminal (LGA)
• Chicago Midway Airport (MDW)
• Memphis International Airport (MEM)
• Miami International Airport (MIA)
• General Mitchell International Airport (MKE)
• Minneapolis St Paul International Airport (MSP)
• Oakland International Airport (OAK)
• Oklahoma City Will Rogers World Airport (OKC)
• Eppley Airfield Omaha International Airport (OMA)
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Phoenix Skyharbor International Airport (PHX)
• T F Green - Providence, RI (PVD)
• Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU)
• San Diego International Airport (SAN)
• South Bend Regional Airport (SBN)
• Louisville International Airport (SDF)
• Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
• John Wayne Airport (SNA)
• Lambert-St Louis International Airport (STL)
• Stewart International Airport (SWF)
• Traverse City/Cherry Capital Airport (TVC)