Wee-Fi: Boingo Ups Count, Nationals-Fi, Free AU Mickey D-Fi

Boingo says they’ve broken 100,000 (103,749, to be exact): The Wi-Fi aggregator signed up 2,600 hotspots from Telefonica in Spain and Argentina, while sharing 7,000 of their locations with customers of the telco networks. The 2,200 Spanish locations are online now; Argentina’s 400 follows. Last month, Boingo folded in 1,100 Swisscom locations, typically supremely high priced even in Europe for stand-alone usage.

Baseball team gets lots of coverage for future add-ons: The Washington Nationals installed an 802.11n network from Meru at their ballpark, and I’ve seen articles all over about both their choice of N as well as their plans to add Wi-Fi-accessible instant reply clips for fans, an ability for fans to send in photos and text messages, as well as internal applications. The installation sounds cheap: $280,000 for 200 access points and all the planning and deployment. So far, the network has been used for wireless ticket scanning to add capacity where needed at gates, and to provide service for reporters and photographers.

McDonald’s service goes free in the antipodes: Australian McDonald’s stores will offer free Wi-Fi starting in December. By March 2009, 720 outlets will be available for use at no cost through a partnership with Telstra. McDonald’s charges for service in the U.S. at its 10,000 equipped company-owned and franchise restaurants, but has a variety of partnerships and bundles that enable many users to access the network at no cost.

Boingo Tweaks Rates, Raises Global Price
The Dead Raise for Obama
(E! Online)