Sprint Corp. signed Wi-Fi roaming agreements with four broadband Internet service providers and a virtual network enabler that the carrier said will increase the number of Wi-Fi locations accessible by its customers to more than 19,000 domestic and international hot spots.
The agreements, which represent more than 10,000 new locations, include international VNE Quiconnect, which will initially add 6,000 international locations and up to 30 airport locations by the end of the year; a unilateral roaming agreement with Fiberlink Communications Corp., providing Sprint customers with access to 3,800 hot spots; a unilateral roaming agreement with Opti-Fi, giving Sprint access to 30 airport venues across the country; a bilateral roaming agreement with Pronto Networks, allowing each company to access each others’ Wi-Fi network; and a unilateral roaming agreement with Nomadix, granting Sprint customers access to more than 350 venues.
“These agreements propel Sprint to the forefront of Wi-Fi service enablement,” said Wes Dittmer, general manager of wireless local area network services for Sprint. “Wi-Fi is an integral part of Sprint’s remote-access strategy, and we are fostering customer productivity by providing high-speed wireless data services at an ever-growing list of venues that are frequented by mobile workers.”
Terms of the agreements were not released.
Sprint added that it also has roaming agreements with several other network providers, including STSN, SBC Communications Inc., Concourse and Cingular Wireless L.L.C., and that it plans to have 25,000 hot spots available to customers by the end of this year.<
