iPass has expanded its Wi-Fi network to 13 million community hotspots, driven by the rapid growth of home hubs, community hotspots and proliferation of Wi-Fi-only devices, the company has announced.
iPass said the global growth of hotspots has been fuelled by new location-based services and other “innovative monetization models”, as well as rise in devices such as tablets that rely on WiFi connectivity.
Marcio Avillez, Vice President of Network Services at iPass, said that users’ growing demand for accessible Wi-Fi on the go was driving the number of community hotspots, which are now handling an increasingly amount of commercial traffic.
He commented: “Organisations ranging from platform players to independent coffee shops see strong business opportunities in making Wi-Fi available to customers, while major telecoms operators are investing heavily in their Wi-Fi rollouts.
“The proliferation of devices, especially tablets, the majority of which are Wi-Fi only, has increased users’ appetites for Wi-Fi. These devices are being used way beyond typical business travel locations like hotels and airports. We’ve watched this trend flourish and have responded by working with partners to broaden our footprint in places such as urban outdoor areas, trains and airplanes.”
The company also announced it will be providing hotspot connectivity for the recently-announced Samsung Gear S smartwatch, allowing users to access its global hotspot network.
iPass said its global network covers 120 countries, with 378,159 hotspots in Europe, 403,414 in the US and 973,133 in Asia.
It also provides in-flight Wi-Fi services on more than 20 airlines, 800 passenger trains as well as operating more than 74,000 hotspots in hotels and convention centres worldwide.
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