EarthLink Co-founder Starts Wireless Firm

EarthLink Inc. co-founder Sky Dayton launched a wireless Internet-access company that he hopes will help bring fast, easy-to-use connections to millions of laptop-toting travelers.

The new company, Boingo Wireless, has created a service that links hundreds of commercial and ad hoc wireless networks in airports, hotels, coffee shops and public spaces, allowing a Boingo subscriber to quickly find and connect to any of the affiliated networks without having to sign up with each of the individual network operators.

Santa Monica-based Boingo will not build the networks, but has cobbled together “roaming” agreements with six companies that operate wireless networks using technology known as 802.11b--or Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi systems use unlicensed spectrum to send signals a few hundred feet at speeds up to 200 times that of a traditional modem.

When the service launches early next year, it will offer plans ranging in price from $7.95 for 24 hours of use to unlimited usage for $74.95 a month.