Boingo: iPhone driving mobile Wi-Fi growth

The iPhone, and to a lesser extent, the iPod touch, are driving increased device-based Wi-Fi use, according to a Boingo Wireless report. Boingo Wireless is a provider of Wi-Fi hotspot access, with more than 100,000 hotspots worldwide. As of May 2009, mobile devices accounted for 26.1% of all connections to Boingo’s networks, compared to just 11.5% in May 2008 and less than a half of a percent in May 2007. Of these mobile connections, the iPhone accounts for 89.2%, followed by the iPod touch with 4.7%—giving the iPhone OS platform a total of 93.9% of all mobile device connections. Finally, Boingo has also seen growth in the amount of data consumed by smartphone users signed up for the company’s monthly Wi-Fi plan, with the monthly average up to 114MB as of May, compared to just over 60MB in January.