iPass Inc., the North American developer and distributor of software and services, has recently announced the expansion and enhancement of its Wi-Fi network across Russia. This is done following an agreement with VimpelCom, which owns Beeline - Russia's second largest mobile carrier (about 42 million subscribers).

Via the Wi-Fi footprint of Beeline, the customers of iPass will have access to one of the world's biggest urban wireless network, which includes Europe's largest city - Moscow - and other major urban areas across Russia (such as St. Petersburg).

More than 14,000 Beeline Wi-Fi hot spots have been added to the iPass Global Broadband Roaming network, in an attempt to provide business users as well as simple travelers with the best-possible Wi-Fi coverage.

When in a Beeline hot spot location, iPass users can now easily access the Web, via the iPassConnect software. This allows them to save the money they would have spent on international data roaming charges or Wi-Fi hotspot vouchers.

Talking about the new deal with iPass, Diana Samoshkina, Head of Residential Marketing at Beeline, declared, “Beeline's partnership with iPass will open up our footprint to business users within Russia as well as international travelers who need secure and reliable Wi-Fi access when they travel to this part of the world”.

Mike Moore, Vice President of Business Development at iPass Inc., added, “Having this kind of partnership in Russia has always been a key consideration for iPass with more and more individuals conducting business in major Russian metropolitan areas including Moscow and St. Petersburg. We are very pleased that we can now offer iPass users access to the Beeline network to stay connected and productive across Russia and the CIS”.
 

iPass claims that it owns the largest active business-grade Wi-Fi network in the world, covering more than 100,000 locations (including 80 top airports and more than 20,000 hotels).