Boingo Wireless has agreed to acquire Advanced Wireless Group, which claims to be the second-largest airport Wi-Fi provider in the United States. Terms of the deal were not disclosed; it is expected to close by year end.
AWG provides public Wi-Fi access in 17 domestic airports, including Los Angeles International, Miami International, Boston’s Logan International Airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International and Charlotte/Douglas International. Once the companies combine, Boingo said it will operate public Wi-Fi in almost 60% of North America’s top 50 airports, and more than 40% of the world’s top 50 airports.
“Wireless infrastructure at the airport has become more than an Internet connection for travelers; it is a primary touch-point between the airport and its passengers,” said David Hagan, Boingo’s CEO. “Adding AWG’s airport portfolio to our own will help us to reach scale more quickly with a wide array of services that leverage the wireless infrastructure to help airports better serve those passengers.”
Scott Phillips, president and CEO of AWG, said that the two companies’ combined resources will allow them to bring operational benefits of wireless services to market faster.
—DragonWave, which provides microwave backhaul, has closed on a public offering of 11.9 million units valued at $23.5 million; it intends to use the proceeds to “strengthen its balance sheet, to fund working capital and for general corporate purposes,” according to the company.
–Distributed antenna system provider ExteNet Systems has inked a deal to provide wireless service in multiple AEG venues in the United States.
The agreement gives ExteNet exclusive rights to design, build, own and operate DAS installations in some of AEG’s arenas, clubs and convention centers. The DAS may also be supplemented with Wi-Fi. Some of AEG’s affiliated properties include the Staples Center and convention center in Los Angeles; the Best Buy Theater in Times Square; and the Target Center in Minneapolis.
—Ventev Wireless Infrastructure, which is a division of TessCo Technologies, has launched a new line of Wi-Fi antennas that support both existing 802.11n networks and the new 802.11ac standard. The new TerraWave Solutions 802.11a/ac antennas are compatible with 802.11ac access points from Cisco, Aruba Network, Meru and Motorola, as well as currently used 802.11n APs. The antennas are aimed at the enterprise market, with support for directional or point-to-point applications such as large-file medical imaging or HD video conferencing.
