Unlimited wifi access through Boingo+partner hotspots $10/month

[JWL]

Just signed up for this for travel starting Monday but haven't used it yet.

$10/month (can be canceled any time).
Unlimited North American access to their network of wifi hotspots (which is mostly partner hotspots, not just those labeled Boingo).
You can use up to 2 devices per plan (not sure how this is monitored or if it is). You can use a smartphone and a laptop. For the smartphone you sign-in through your browser (e.g. I couldn't sign on through the Boingo iPhone app because it only works for the mobile wi-fi plan, but I could connect when I started at Safari and the startup web page was Boingo's login page).
There is a different ($8) package for smartphones only.

From http://www.boingo.com/
Enjoy UNLIMITED Wi-Fi access throughout the Americas for a low monthly rate of $9.95. Get connected to:
* Airport Wi-Fi in hundreds of airports!
* Hotel Wi-Fi, including participating Marriott®
and Sheraton® locations.
* Starbucks® Wi-Fi
* McDonald’s® Wi-Fi

This service used to be about $30, but at this price it feels like a steal. I'll post an update after my travels (4 airports + a Marriott)

I originally just posted this in Travel (and that is probably still what it shines for), but the more I looked at it I thought it merited posting in Hot Deals for people who are just "on the road" a lot. In Canada it appears that this gives access through all Starbucks wifi (Bell customers already get this for free, $4/2 hours otherwise) and UPS Store wifi, plus a sprinkling of others. Their location finding tool is HERE (http://boingo.jiwire.com/?lang=en).

One of the other interesting ones included is the Toronto OneZone (http://www.onezone.ca/pricing.html)mesh (downtown Toronto) which charges $5/hr, or $10/day, or $30/month. It appears you can get a month through Boingo for $10!

Probably still mostly of interest for people who are on the road (unless you live over a Starbucks or UPS Store!).

Updates as promised:
Update from the Buffalo airport: Works great
Update from the Detroit airport: Works great.

[tdott]

I travel alot and find it very useful.
I was in London, UK last week staying at a hotel in Marble Arch. The hotel rate was £23 GBP! per 24h.

I was able to find an o2 hotspot from my hotel room (it could have been the cloud i forget).
That saved me (or my company) £23x5 = £115 GBP! for one trip alone! Wi-fi in London is crazy!

My trips to london alone make it worthwhile for the entire year. I think i pay more than $10 but i get worldwide roaming.

[JWL]

I travel alot and find it very useful.
I was in London, UK last week staying at a hotel in Marble Arch. The hotel rate was £23 GBP! per 24h.

I was able to find an o2 hotspot from my hotel room (it could have been the cloud i forget).
That saved me (or my company) £23x5 = £115 GBP! for one trip alone! Wi-fi in London is crazy!

My trips to london alone make it worthwhile for the entire year. I think i pay more than $10 but i get worldwide roaming.

Global is US$59/month. I thought it sounded like a lot, but your experience makes it a bargain!

I saw another post indicating that their company shares a Boingo account so it sounds like it can only be used by 2 devices at a time, but it isn't actually tied to 2 specific devices.

[Hugh Jass]

One of the other interesting ones included is the Toronto OneZone (http://www.onezone.ca/pricing.html)mesh (downtown Toronto) which charges $5/hr, or $10/day, or $30/month. It appears you can get a month through Boingo for $10!




This alone makes this a very hot deal.

[discostupid]

wow...seems like a great deal just to get internet in toronto for like basic browsing and stuff...there's hotspots everywhere!

[subgau]

I think I will sign up during xmas when I go to niagara. Thanks

[brucedlx]

It's not really as great as you think for replacing residential access. I tried it out thinking I could save mad money on my internet bill but there were problems.

1. You have to be near ground level to have a chance of getting a signal. I live on the 12th floor of an apartment building and I get nothing. The 4th floor lounge even gets nothing. Once you go outside downtown though, there are tonnes. Also does not work if you are sitting underground most of the time.

2. There is a clause in there TOS that says you are not allowed to use it as a replacement for residential internet. How they monitor it I do not know, but I would imagine that if you start downloading tonnes of GB of stuff, they will get suspicious.

When it did work, it worked fine for general web browsing and mail checking.

In the end, I signed up for the rogers extreme students deal @ 35$/mth for 8 months (no contract).

[JWL]

It's not really as great as you think for replacing residential access.

No one in this thread indicated they were thinking it would be great for replacing residential access, but thanks for the input in case anyone was thinking that.

[Narci]

It's not really as great as you think for replacing residential access. I tried it out thinking I could save mad money on my internet bill but there were problems.

1. You have to be near ground level to have a chance of getting a signal. I live on the 12th floor of an apartment building and I get nothing. The 4th floor lounge even gets nothing. Once you go outside downtown though, there are tonnes. Also does not work if you are sitting underground most of the time.

2. There is a clause in there TOS that says you are not allowed to use it as a replacement for residential internet. How they monitor it I do not know, but I would imagine that if you start downloading tonnes of GB of stuff, they will get suspicious.

When it did work, it worked fine for general web browsing and mail checking.

In the end, I signed up for the rogers extreme students deal @ 35$/mth for 8 months (no contract).

I think this was meant to be an alternative for DATA plans from cellular providers that charge up the wazoo for data.

[Phantom]

A good deal if you travel a lot to the States and want internet access in airports (I hate how American airports always charge for wifi). However, if most of the wifi spots you're hoping to access through this are Starbucks ones, you can get access to Starbucks wifi by purchasing a gift card, registering it on the Internet, and making sure you spend some of the money on it every month, in order to get access to Starbucks wifi.

[Hugh Jass]

you can get access to Starbucks wifi by purchasing a gift card, registering it on the Internet, and making sure you spend some of the money on it every month, in order to get access to Starbucks wifi.

Don't know about Calgary, but here you don't even need a gift card anymore. You just register and can get 2hrs access a day. If you lived above a Starbucks, you could just register with a number of email addys and use each for 2hrs each.

[aingaran]

Are you sure this is not for 3 months only? I signed up back in May for this promo (first 3 months for $10/month) then $20something thereafter.

[Hugh Jass]

The more I think about this, the more I think I'll sign up. I currently have the stoopid 1GB/$30 on my iphone, but if I was to reduce this to the 500MB/$25 plan and sign up for this deal, I'd have unlimited when in downtown Toronto ( where I use it mostly) for another $5 ;)

[Hugh Jass]

Are you sure this is not for 3 months only? I signed up back in May for this promo (first 3 months for $10/month) then $20something thereafter.


I googled around and it seems the answer is that it is a promo rate, but its not limited to 3 months. Can't find anything in the user agreement about that either.

There is a time limit on usage though:

Boingo Global is limited to 2,000 minutes of use of the services during any billing cycle month.
The total number of minutes that you can use the Service in any billing cycle month is 2,000.

[LNahid2000]

I googled around and it seems the answer is that it is a promo rate, but its not limited to 3 months. Can't find anything in the user agreement about that either.

There is a time limit on usage though:

Boingo Global is limited to 2,000 minutes of use of the services during any billing cycle month.
The total number of minutes that you can use the Service in any billing cycle month is 2,000.

That time limit is for their $60/month international service only, not the $10 North America service.

[JWL]

Are you sure this is not for 3 months only? I signed up back in May for this promo (first 3 months for $10/month) then $20something thereafter.

Yes I am sure. I signed up for $10 with no promo code and there is no indication anywhere (other than on other websites referring to old deals) that it is a limited time promotion.

I googled around and it seems the answer is that it is a promo rate, but its not limited to 3 months. Can't find anything in the user agreement about that either.

That is not correct. As I noted in my OP it used to be $30 (and you could get it down to $10 for 3 months with a promo code) but it is now $10/month. Have a look at www.boingo.com TODAY for their terms rather than old posts you can find on other websites through Google.

[Sash[DSL]]

All of this is very interesting but is there a directory somewhere that lists all available hotspots, hopefully mapping them out?

[JWL]

;9716485']All of this is very interesting but is there a directory somewhere that lists all available hotspots, hopefully mapping them out?

Not a list but you can find locations if you try. I can understand your frustration in trying to figure it out though as t is pretty tough to figure out. Here's what you do:
1. Go to www.boingo.com
2. Click on LOCATIONS (at the top of the page)
3. Enter the area you are looking for in the box on the right.
4. It will show locations on a map.

Or you can just click through to your location on the map and it will show you exactly where they are on the map.

[Sash[DSL]]

Great tip, that worked but no information on actual coverage. I suppose that would be too much to ask. :) I.E. starbucks wifi will probably be just strong enough to work inside the cafe, right? Same for UPS store I assume.

[natalienicole]

I go to the US a lot so thanks :)

[jackboot]

One of the other interesting ones included is the Toronto OneZone (http://www.onezone.ca/pricing.html)mesh (downtown Toronto) which charges $5/hr, or $10/day, or $30/month. It appears you can get a month through Boingo for $10!

I signed up for this $10/month promo about 1.5 months ago mainly for use in DT Toronto. So far it has worked quite well. It is also very convenient for airport use. For $10 I think it is a good deal.

However, I'm hoping that the mobile network operators that will hopefully be up and running soon will bundle cheap (unlimited?) data tethering. This would be even better since the signal would be everywhere, not just downtown Toronto and boingo spots.

I've read that canceling Boingo is not a problem (no contract) but that you have to phone in and possibly be hassled by their CSRs before they'll let you go.

[sf1]

just wondering how safe their network is? Meaning would you use it for e-shopping and credit card payments?
I am just concerned that anyone with a login can easily sniff the datas being sent and received by others on same network.

and what is the difference between the 9.95 and 7.95 service?
the 9.95 is wifi and can be used on laptops and mobile phones and the 7.95 seems to be wifi as well

[beachlover]

Shows a place right by me....Bloor/South Kingsway,. but it's really at avenue/bloor. I think a better way to figure if this is useful is to search for wireless networks with your network connections on the laptop, and hopefully see a hotspot named Boingo, or partners names.....BTW wireless toronto is free and a great concept if it gets bigger....

[sfu_lifer]

I used Boingo during my 2 week trip to Europe in September. I just kept renewing my $10 plan from a previous trip to Florida in June and it seems to work internationally as well.
I used it a LOT in Spain, during a stopover in Charles de Gaulle and whenever I'm traveling in the US: the airports. Used it with my MagicJack and made calls all the time to NA while abroad. I also use it here locally in the GVRD.
It IS a hassle in that it can take a while to connect to a new hotspot but overall, I'm very happy with their service.
Basically, you download this lightweight client from theirs and it alerts you whenever you're near a Boingo partner/hotspot. Just follow the instructions and voila!

[JWL]

Shows a place right by me....Bloor/South Kingsway,. but it's really at avenue/bloor. I think a better way to figure if this is useful is to search for wireless networks with your network connections on the laptop, and hopefully see a hotspot named Boingo, or partners names.....BTW wireless toronto is free and a great concept if it gets bigger....

If you hover your mouse over the Boingo icons (located approximately) it will pop up with the address of the hotspot location.

OneZone in downtown Toronto is free now? I'm surprised it doesn't say anything on their website about it.

[CastIronStove]

So does this not work with the iPod touch?

I signed up yesterday and tried it today, only to receive an error message. Checked their website, and buried in their FAQ Boingo mentions:


Can I connect to Boingo Mobile with my Boingo laptop account (e.g., Boingo AsYouGo, Boingo Unlimited, or Boingo Global)?

No, Boingo Mobile requires an additional subscription and is not included in your laptop account. Your laptop username and password will not work for Boingo Mobile logins.


On a related topic, does anyone know if there is any sort of contract cooling off period applicable here?

[sf1]

I used Boingo during my 2 week trip to Europe in September. I just kept renewing my $10 plan from a previous trip to Florida in June and it seems to work internationally as well.
I used it a LOT in Spain, during a stopover in Charles de Gaulle and whenever I'm traveling in the US: the airports. Used it with my MagicJack and made calls all the time to NA while abroad. I also use it here locally in the GVRD.
It IS a hassle in that it can take a while to connect to a new hotspot but overall, I'm very happy with their service.
Basically, you download this lightweight client from theirs and it alerts you whenever you're near a Boingo partner/hotspot. Just follow the instructions and voila!

When was your trip? You might get charged on using outside north america on your next bill.

Does the Boingo software alert user that extra charges may incur if it is outside the plan coverage?

[Deemo]

I'm hoping that the mobile network operators that will hopefully be up and running soon will bundle cheap (unlimited?) data tethering.

Oh man....that was a good one.

I couldn't type a response I was laughing so hard.:)

[matdwyer]

So does this not work with the iPod touch?

I signed up yesterday and tried it today, only to receive an error message. Checked their website, and buried in their FAQ Boingo mentions:



On a related topic, does anyone know if there is any sort of contract cooling off period applicable here?

Worked on my iPhone when I had no data.

I used this to go through the states, its nice that it covers many airports. I activated it on my way to the airport, and canceled it on my way back a week later (so I didn't forget to renew). Saved good cash by doing it.

The canceling process was simple, just a quick phone call and that was that. If I recall correctly it didn't cover O'Hare, but it did cover like every mcdonalds in the USA or something. I was using it in Buffalo & New Orleans and certainly found enough spots.

[sfu_lifer]

When was your trip? You might get charged on using outside north america on your next bill.

Does the Boingo software alert user that extra charges may incur if it is outside the plan coverage?

I came back mid-Sept. Got some extra charges (YMMV). The software just tells you if you're within a boingo hotspot, nothing about extra charges. My Viliv S5 MID investment was well worth it since it served as my phone/PDA/netbook/video/music/RFD shopping device :).

And to another poster:
And Boingo did work in O'Hare. That's where I signed up initially. Not sure which terminal I was in.

EDIT: I just checked my billing statement and YES, I did get charged :( $5 for my time in Spain which is ok since I used it more than what was logged. Perhaps there was an open wifi that I managed to hop into mid-surfing.

[benji82]

man i would have been all over this, however, i work in a basement downtown (haha don't ask) and there's no available signals. too bad i couldn't tether my smart phone to their network, cuz my data plan works fine through telus down here but $$$ if i use it too much! :(

[JWL]

So does this not work with the iPod touch?

I signed up yesterday and tried it today, only to receive an error message. Checked their website, and buried in their FAQ Boingo mentions:

On a related topic, does anyone know if there is any sort of contract cooling off period applicable here?

Yes the Unlimited plan will work with an iPod Touch. But if you are using the Unlimited plan you have to sign-on through Safari rather than using the Boingo App. The Boingo app only works if you signed up for the Boingo Mobile service (which is what that error message means).

These instructions are based on my iPhone connection but I expect the Touch works the same way. Make sure in your wifi settings you have "Ask to Join Networks" as ON. When you open Safari and go to a web page it will ask you if you want to join the appropriate SSID. Choose it and it will take you to the Boingo login screen for your userid and pw. Once you have done that you are connected to their wifi. I just did it with my iPhone (on airplane mode, but with wifi ON) in the Detroit airport.

One more "how to": If you are connecting to a Boingo partner hotspot (like Bell at Starbucks), you will get the Bell login screen. Then you need to find a button/link for "other partner connections" or something like that and follow it through until you get to a Boingo login option.

[goJays]

anyone use this service in DT toronto for the Blackberry Bold?

will most apps work under wifi? because i can't even get a lot of my apps, Viigo/Point/Opera to work under ryerson wifi

[Hugh Jass]

I went onto 'onezone' downtown Toronto yesterday and the login screen popped up and told me that its only $5 a month for iphone/ipod. I have to check it out for terms of use but that looks cheap if there's a lot of data allowed.

[JWL]

I went onto 'onezone' downtown Toronto yesterday and the login screen popped up and told me that its only $5 a month for iphone/ipod. I have to check it out for terms of use but that looks cheap if there's a lot of data allowed.

If that is the case it probably merits its own thread.

Seems to be true:
http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/iphone-users-get-unlimited-wifi-for-5-a-month-no-kidding/135984

[JWL]

So I can now confirm that Boingo worked great in all the airports and Starbucks that I passed through in the last couple of days.

[krash322]

I went onto 'onezone' downtown Toronto yesterday and the login screen popped up and told me that its only $5 a month for iphone/ipod. I have to check it out for terms of use but that looks cheap if there's a lot of data allowed.

SOLID! I'm picking up a iPod Touch soon so this will be quite useful.

[zoolander]

Wonder how they'll manage tethering. I imagine keen people living within the boundaries can substitute their residential plan with a OneZone (up to) 7Mbps using their iPhone/iPod as a router.
No data limit, eh?

I'm sure Cogeco will figure it out.

[gmark2000]

Related but not.

Google is offering free wifi at several U.S. airports from now until January 15th.

Details are here: http://www.freeholidaywifi.com/

Here's the list:
Austin (AUS)
Baltimore (BWI)
Billings (BIL)
Boston (BOS)
Bozeman (BZN)
Buffalo (BUF)
Burbank (BUR)
Central Wisconsin (CWA)
Charlotte (CLT)
Des Moines (DSM)
El Paso (ELP)
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Fort Myers/SW (RSW)
Greensboro (GSO)
Houston (HOU)
Houston Bush (IAH)
Indianapolis (IND)
Jacksonville (JIA)
Kalamazoo (AZO)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Louisville (SDF)
Madison (MSN)
Memphis (MEM)
Miami (MIA)
Milwaukee (MKE)
Monterey (MRY)
Nashville (BNA)
Newport News (PHF)
Norfolk (ORF)
Oklahoma City (OKC)
Omaha (OMA)
Orlando (MCO)
Panama City (PFN)
Pittsburgh (PIT)
Portland (PWM)
Sacramento (SMF)
San Antonio (SAT)
San Diego (SAN)
San Jose (SJC)
Seattle (SEA)
South Bend (SBN)
Spokane (GEG)
St. Louis (STL)
State College (SCE)
Toledo (TOL)
Traverse City (TVC)
West Palm Beach (PBI)

[actng]

this one time at T3 Pearson, i signed up for 1 hr boingo on the spot.
it sucked. it was so slow it wasn't useable.

i emailed techsupport/customer service to complain. they never even bothered responding.

i don't think i'll be using them again unless someone can tell me for sure it's worth the money from a service delivery stand point.

[abercrombieboy]

It says $17.90 for laptop and smartphone. The $9.95 is for laptop only, and $7.95 for smartphone only. Where do you see $10 for both laptop and smartphone?

Also, this is in USD, right? Are there taxes?

[slaman]

This is a hot deal... I've paid way more than that for 1-2 hours of usage at an airport.

Great find!

[JWL]

this one time at T3 Pearson, i signed up for 1 hr boingo on the spot.
it sucked. it was so slow it wasn't useable.

i emailed techsupport/customer service to complain. they never even bothered responding.

i don't think i'll be using them again unless someone can tell me for sure it's worth the money from a service delivery stand point.

I can tell you for sure that it was worth it to me the the 4 airports and 3 starbucks I used it in on Monday and Tuesday. I did have some trouble in the Los Angeles airport but re-booting my computer seemed to solve it (I think I may have connected to one router then moved to another area that was too far from the router).

It says $17.90 for laptop and smartphone. The $9.95 is for laptop only, and $7.95 for smartphone only. Where do you see $10 for both laptop and smartphone?

Also, this is in USD, right? Are there taxes?

Some of their labelling is confusing.

It is US$10 for their Unlimited plan. You can use this for laptops AND smartphones (smartphones have to connect through their wifi settings, can't connect to the Unlimited plan through the Boingo iPhone app). I can confirm that an iPhone can use the Unlimited plan with 100% certainty because I used it this way.

The US$7 "Mobile" plan is for smartphones only.

No taxes (my credit card charge was C$10.88).

[abercrombieboy]

How good is the OneZone network? Whenever I scan and see it on my list of networks, I only see one signal bar, which suggests weakness.

[Hugh Jass]

How good is the OneZone network? Whenever I scan and see it on my list of networks, I only see one signal bar, which suggests weakness.

AFAIK, the antennas are all outside, fixed to posts at various street corners. So strongest signals are outside. Underground food courts can be patchy.

[JWL]

this one time at T3 Pearson, i signed up for 1 hr boingo on the spot.
it sucked. it was so slow it wasn't useable.

i emailed techsupport/customer service to complain. they never even bothered responding.

i don't think i'll be using them again unless someone can tell me for sure it's worth the money from a service delivery stand point.

I'm using it in T1 right now and the speed is great (at least in this particular location).

[kiasu]

i dont understand why do we need to pay for wifi at airport in north american where we can get free wifi in Asia airport....same for the trolley...:mad:

[jackboot]

i dont understand why do we need to pay for wifi at airport in north american where we can get free wifi in Asia airport....same for the trolley...:mad:

Calgary airport has free wifi throughout...any others?

[JWL]

i dont understand why do we need to pay for wifi at airport in north american where we can get free wifi in Asia airport....same for the trolley...:mad:

I think you are looking for the Off-Topic forum. Here's a link: http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/off-topic-f15/

[goJays]

how close proximity do you have to be within to get decent wifi coverage? i live in dt toronto, but not in the exact core.