- Boingo is rolling out upgraded Wi-Fi and a neutral-host DAS at the Mets’ home ballpark
- It’s one of many stadium deployments under Boingo’s management
- Boingo now serves more than 70 major sports and entertainment venues nationwide
Boingo Wireless is claiming a home run after Citi Field selected it to deliver new Wi-Fi and cellular network technology in the park, which is home to the New York Mets.
A lot of the upgrades are already underway – like in the premium seating area behind home plate – so fans will have a better experience when the baseball season returns in a couple months. Additional upgrades will continue after that.
“They're going to have really phenomenal connectivity across the board” and that includes mobile ticketing, social apps, safety and security, concessions and more, said Boingo Wireless CEO Mike Finley.
The distributed antenna system (DAS) that Boingo provides for Citi Field will be a neutral host system that serves all three national Tier One U.S. carriers.
Boingo’s new Port deal
The way people attend games in New York might be a little different than some other places in that they’re arriving via ferry, subway, train, bus or automobile, and it’s important to have good connectivity all the way around, Finley said.
To that point, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last year inked a new long-term agreement with Boingo to deliver next-generation cellular and Wi-Fi networks across its portfolio of properties, including airports, crossings, seaport facilities, PATH stations and the Midtown Bus Terminal.
This marks the 25th year that Boingo has provided Wi-Fi in airports, expanding to connect more places, including more than 70 sports and entertainment venues nationwide across Major League Baseball, the National Football League, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association, to name a few.
Boingo CEO: Diversified approach
There’s no cookie cutter approach to providing the connectivity for venues, Finley said.
“The big thing is you want to be able to provide the best connectivity, whether it’s cellular, licensed or unlicensed or CBRS,” he said. “Every ballpark is a little different.”
Typically, it’s the venue itself that dictates what kind of design they want, built around whatever spectrum each wireless carrier is using. Some stadiums have under-the-seat antennas; others do not.
Mum on total head count
Boingo was a public company for years but reverted back to a private company in 2021 when it was acquired by Digital Colony Management, now Digital Bridge, for $854 million. Finley declined to say how many people Boingo employs but said it has hired a lot of veterans.
The company started targeting military bases as part of its deployment strategy more than a dozen years ago and now serves close to 100 bases. Boingo’s fiber and Wi-Fi deployment at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho last year marked the first-ever commercial Wi-Fi 7 network rollout at a U.S. military base.
This year, one of its big projects will be deploying Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6E and DAS technologies at the Hollywood Burbank Airport replacement terminal ahead of the FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympic & Paralympic Games.
Finley said it’s hard to pinpoint Boingo’s competitors because it does so many things in different areas, but he acknowledged that Boldyn Networks, which this week announced a deal with Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and tower companies are in the mix.
“We are a complete connectivity provider, and we're somewhat unique in that,” he said. “We feel strong in that we want to create connectivity using all types – licensed, unlicensed, hybrid – and designing and bringing those together for the best use of the venue … We see different players depending on the vertical or the opportunity that we’re going after.”