Boingo Bags SMC Bundling Deal

SMC Networks of Irvine, CA, announced today
that it’s entering a strategic partnership with hot spot aggregator Boingo
Wireless. SMC will provide Boingo Wi-Fi sniffer/login software with all
of its 802.11b-based PC Cards in the future. The software is free to download.

SMC’s wireless network card which will bundle the software (the SMC2623W v.2)
retails for between $70 and $80. Boingo directly resells Agere’s ORiNOCO Gold
Wi-Fi card for only $49.95 to those who sign up for the Boingo Pro service ($24.95
per month with 10 connect days) or the Boingo Unlimited service ($74.95 a month
for unlimited use).

Boingo, which earlier this week added new hotspot locations in a deal with
Airpath Wireless, has over 600
wireless hot spots in its member network in the United States. Boingo does not
have its own physical network infrastructure, but instead aggregates existing
hot spot access areas into its overall network.

Boingo service software seeks out partner hotspots and lets users log in to
the Internet via these partner access areas. The program has a "personal
VPN" feature to instantly secure a connection.

Eric Griffith is the managing editor of 802.11 Planet.