Towerstream lands first wholesale deal for Manhattan Wi-Fi network

By Kimberley Donoghue
PBN Web Editor
Twitter: @kdonog

MIDDLETOWN – 4G-service provider Towerstream Corp. landed its first wholesale deal for its Manhattan Wi-Fi offload network.

Boingo Wireless Inc. will use the network, first launched Jan. 4, which has about 1,000 routers in 7 square miles of Manhattan.

The network will broadcast the “Boingo Hotspot” SSID before the end of the year and will be available to all of Boingo’s retail Wi-Fi customers, anyone that wants to purchase access and its wholesale platform service customers, such as: KT, Orange France, Skype and Verizon.

A Towerstream spokesman declined to disclose the financial details, including the length of the agreement.

“With the explosion of Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices, this network will provide our customers with an exceptional data experience within [the United States’] biggest city,” said Luis Serrano, senior vice president of business and corporate development for Boingo. “Whether they use iPhones or iPads, Android devices or any other mobile device, we’ll be able to simplify their access to universal Wi-Fi and provide that service cost-effectively.”

Boingo customers currently have access to more than 400,000 hotspots globally; its corporate headquarters is in Los Angeles.