Boingo and Vonage talk up wireless VoIP

Boingo Wireless has teamed up with US broadband telephony firm Vonage to supply voice over Wi-Fi services.

In the first phase of the partnership, the companies have agreed to co-market a bundle that includes Vonage's SoftPhone service and Boingo's Wi-Fi service.

The offering will be targeted at business travellers, enabling them to make and take calls from Boingo's network of 11,000 airports, cafes and hotels using the XPRO SoftPhone from XTEN, the preferred softphone client used by Vonage.

"History has shown that adding mobility to any type of communications has proven to be a winning combination and I think we are on the verge of that happening again with VoIP," said Peter Barris, managing general partner of venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, and a board member for both Boingo and Vonage.

Jeffrey Citron, president and chief executive of Vonage Holdings, added: "VoIP is causing a paradigm shift in the telecoms world because it offers a new level of value and features to anyone with a broadband connection. Adding mobility to this bundle will help to make it compelling to a new audience."

Sky Dayton, founder and chief executive of Boingo, explained that the next step is to work with manufacturers to integrate the software into Wi-Fi-ready phones.

"VoIP will be a key driver in spreading Wi-Fi to non-PC devices," he said.