Sprint takes Wi-Fi leap

Sprint PCS, which invested in Wi-Fi aggregator Boingo Wireless two years ago, but has made nary a peep about Wi-Fi since, announced that it will launch Wi-Fi access in 800 hotels, airports and convention centers later this summer.

Sprint’s Wi-Fi ZONES offering will leverage new roaming partnerships with hot spot operators Wayport and Airpath Wireless, and the carrier expects eventually to expand access to more than 2100 locations by the end of this year. Sprint also will look into building some of its own hot spots.

The service will be targeted at business users and integrated with Sprint’s existing corporate enterprise solutions family, PCS Clear Wireless Workplace. The carrier will begin offering its PCS Connection Manager with Wi-Fi connection software.

Pricing for the service will not be announced until launch. Initially, users will have to pay for access with their credit cards, but Sprint expects to integrate Wi-Fi billing into its PCS service plan statements.

A Sprint statement announcing plans for the service did not mention whether or not Boingo is involved. The carrier holds a minor investment in the aggregator founded by Internet entrepreneur Sky Dayton, but has yet to team with Boingo on the service or product front. However, Sprint has already offered Wi-Fi on a limited basis. It recently announced a plan to have Wi-Fi coverage in Wyndham Hotels, and on some college campuses, including Case Western Reserve University.