Boingo hops on private networking train

Boingo Wireless, which has had plenty of time to hone is private networking skills, last week announced the commercial availability of Boingo Private Networks, its network-as-a-service model for all enterprises.

According to Boingo, the solution is ideal for customers that want the benefits of a cellular network without the hassles of managing the network.

“We’ve been trialing and deploying private networks for our key partners such as iconic transportation hubs and sports and entertainment venues, for some time now. And, we’ve worked with several different network architectures leveraging Wi-Fi, neutral host DAS, CBRS and more,” Michael J. Zeto III, senior vice president of global strategy and emerging businesses at Boingo, told Fierce via email.

“Thanks to that great success, we’re making Boingo Private Networks commercially available for other focused industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, logistics and commercial real estate,” he said.

Boingo starts with the customer’s business goal first and then leverages a number of technologies, including its own multi-access edge computing (MEC), to design, build and manage a private network that delivers “the right solution for the right outcome,” he added.

Boingo, which got its start in airports across the country, bills itself as the leading distributed antenna system (DAS) and Wi-Fi provider. It’s now in stadiums, military bases, convention centers and other venues.

Boingo said its Private Networks offering can be implemented with 5G, LTE, CBRS, Wi-Fi 6, MEC and work seamlessly alongside neutral host DAS and Wi-Fi.  

RELATED: Boingo set to go private in $854M sale

The company recently was bought by an affiliate of Digital Colony Management, ending months of speculation about its future. The deal valued Boingo at about $854 million, including the assumption of $199 million in net debt obligations.