San Francisco, CA-based global WiFi provider Skyroam recently closed a $20 million Series C funding, bringing its total funding to over $50 million, and proving wrong naysayers, who think the device is unnecessary.

The round was led by Jafco Asia with participation from returning investors Vickers Venture, GSR Ventures, China Broadband Capital, as well as Delta Electronics Capital. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate global deployment of its smart data platform, to strengthen its products, expand the engineering and research team, enhance the end-to-end service platform, and accelerate growth into more vertical markets across the world.

Skyroam keeps travellers connected around the world through mobile hotspots powered by its virtual SIM (vSIM) technology. It delivers on-demand local wireless data through local carrier partnerships around the world. Its global hotspots, embedded with a vSIM, enable unlimited mobile WiFi in 120+ countries. Skyroam’s vSIM technology also provides global mobile data access to IoT, M2M, and wearables applications.

While switching to a local carrier might appear to be an attractive proposition to someone travelling once a year, Skyroam presents a very strong case for frequent travellers journeying to different countries. For instance, on roaming rates, carriers negotiate with each other but customers ultimately don’t benefit from competitive pricing, and are usually stuck with slow speeds.

This is where Skyroam’s virtual SIM technology steps in. It lets people use existing physical SIMs that is then virtualized, and can deliver mobile services to a wireless device, and change carriers on the device as needed, with Skyroam as the trusted third party. By using Skyroam, not only can travellers avoid a telecom company’s extra charges and bandwidth usage limits, but also connect up to five devices at a time. The company also recently announced a new Monthly Unlimited Global WiFi Subscription, available for use around the world for an affordable price of $99/month.

Travel has changed significantly over the last few years. One of those areas is the proliferation of mobile-first applications that make it easy to book and find information on-the-go. Travellers are increasingly taking control of their travel needs, no longer bound by the limitations of connectivity. In the future, travellers will expect even more seamlessness, and the growth of Skyroam will make it easy for people to align their dynamic mobile connectivity needs to their travel requirements, thus, solving a big pain point for frequent travellers.

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Following successful launch of the ultimate travel gadget, Skyroam Solis all-in-one 4G LTE hotspot and power bank, Skyroam announces monthly global portable WiFi service for everyday use at home and abroad

Skyroam, the global WiFi provider making it easy for travelers to stay connected around the world, is announcing the launch of the anytime, anywhere monthly subscription for its personal hotspots, including the latest Skyroam Solis, the dual 4G LTE global WiFi hotspot and power bank. The new Monthly Unlimited Global WiFi Subscription is available for use around the world for the affordable price of $99/month, with Skyroam’s secure, seamless global data network that does not require any SIM swapping or contracts.

Skyroam has served over 15 million happy travelers with its convenient portable global WiFi solution providing 24-hour global WiFi daypasses via its flexible pay-as-you-go model. After surveying customer needs and listening to feedback, Skyroam is now expanding offerings to a monthly subscription option to meet a top request for the continuous mobile WiFi on-the-go. The new Monthly Unlimited Global WiFi Subscription provides affordable rates for longer trips or continuous connectivity as needed with Skyroam’s same contract-free model. Whether navigating international travels, being productive on the daily work commute, or keeping the kids entertained during family road trips, Skyroam ensures an enjoyable mobile experience without missing a beat. The new monthly global WiFi service provides the freedom to use essential devices — anytime, anywhere — boosting productivity and meaningful connections. Skyroam customers can activate the 30-day monthly global WiFi subscription to meet dynamic mobile connectivity needs with the option to unsubscribe anytime and return to the standard pay-as-you-go model.

Skyroam’s mobile hotspots seamlessly connect users with the best available local network in more than 110 countries with no physical SIM and no contract needed, via its proprietary global virtual SIM technology consisting of nearly 200 operators. With instant access to secure, unlimited data, shareable on up to five devices simultaneously, Skyroam offers the convenience of traveling within a region or going from one country to another without configuring local SIMs, updating plans, or incurring roaming charges and overage fees.

We want to eliminate the hassles of staying connected both at home and abroad with on-demand WiFi service available anytime, anywhere,” said Jing Liu, Skyroam Founder and CEO. “Our mission is to make it easy, for people to align their dynamic mobile connectivity needs with where they’re going, when they’re going, and the length of their trip. Our new monthly portable WiFi hotspot subscription offering solves a major pain point for anyone constantly on-the-go.”

The new Monthly Unlimited Global WiFi Subscription is available for $99/month worldwide for a limited time, with pricing normally $125/mo for Skyroam Solis and $100/mo for the original Skyroam Hotspot. For companies interested in a subscription for employees, customizable business plans are available with volume discounts and additional features including streamlined billing. With Skyroam’s standard pay-as-you-go service, individual global WiFi daypasses are available for purchase as needed, for as low as $8 each.The Skyroam Solis hotspot is available for purchase on skyroam.com for $149.99 or users can rent the original Skyroam hotspot for $9.95 per day.

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With our connected lifestyle, we are more dependent on internet than ever. Business travellers need to stay connected while travelling to take care of their work and leisure travellers need it to share their experiences on social media and discover local content. Many startups are coming up to solve the connectivity problem for travellers with their innovative ideas. Skyroam is offering a smart solution for travellers in the form of a Wi-Fi hotspot that won’t require you to buy and insert SIM cards and can be used in over 70 countries. While switching to local carrier might appear to be an attractive proposition to someone travelling once a year, Skyroam presents a very strong case for itself for frequent travellers who travel to different countries. We had a chat with their team to know more about the product and their plans ahead:

What segment are you primarily targeting? Business travellers or leisure travellers?

While many older wifi hotspot products were built specifically for the always-at-work business traveller, more and more leisure travellers today rely on frequent and heavy data access to navigate, find things to do, and keep in touch with family and friends. We’re excited to deliver an amazing service that helps frequent global travellers, both business and leisure, stay connected while on the road.

Do you face any friction in the process of signing up local partners?

Establishing partnerships with carriers is one of the many challenging but rewarding tasks of building a global network. We work very successfully with nearly 100 carriers. A very important part of the value we offer our customers is the strong relationships with local carriers.

Your service works at HSPA+ at this point. Do you plan to move up to 4G anytime soon?

Since our product is aimed at delivering convenience to global travellers, we’ve optimized for maximum capability in as many countries as possible. We have chosen HSPA+ as our wireless technology because it’s the most widely-supported globally. As LTE becomes more widespread we’ll move in that direction.

Right now, the data plans offer limited 3G data. Do you plan to introduce plans to suit the soundcloud and netflix hungry travellers as well?

Yes. Our first service model is suited for frequent travellers as our core technology delivers a convenient, affordable way to stay connected from country to country while on the go. Second, we’re currently working on another service model to meet the needs of travellers who are also power users.

There are Wi-Fi hotspot devices available in the market for as low as $30. Many countries offer low cost SIM cards for travellers with 4-5 GB of 3G data at their international airports. Couple them together and one can have plenty of data on Wi-FI at low prices. How does Skyroam fare against that?

Our goal is to deliver consistent service, price and performance in over 70 countries.

We offer the best value and performance for the frequent traveller that crosses multiple borders as they travel throughout the year. For travellers that return to the same single location repeatedly, SIM card swapping or other WiFi devices may be a less expensive solution to their specific needs.

Our unique technology offers a more convenient way to stay connected around the world by bypassing the extra steps.

We try to balance price and convenience so we give you an on-demand option requiring no legwork.

What markets are you covering at this point?

We are the leading connectivity solution in China for outbound travellers. Our hotspot is available for purchase throughout the world. Thanks to our many partners, Skyroam Hotspot can be purchased at airports in the USA and Europe, pilot shops, global online retailers and even for in-flight.

Your perception of India as market for your offering.

The market in India is a great opportunity for us to bring together carrier partners in a regional setting. We take joy in keeping our customers connected and making hard to reach places more accessible to our customers.

Apart from the Wi-Fi device, do you plan to introduce traveller SIM cards without the device in future?

Skyroam’s virtual SIM is not a traveller’s SIM card as we know it, but a new SIM-less technology that can be manufactured into any Wi-Fi gadget. So we would not be introducing a traveller SIM card as we know it today, but something different.

Major technology players are moving away from the traditional SIM card model in search of flexibility. At this point, Skyroam’s vSIM comes into play – it’s a new technology that changes carriers over the air as you move from country to country. It can be enabled in any WiFi device, like a tablet or car GPS, and doesn’t require any steps to change SIMs, switch carriers or configure devices. It’s simply an on-demand, SIM-less technology. So after the hotspot, next comes embedding Skyroam’s vSIM software into devices to enable global connectivity.

It would be interesting to see how mobile operators try to woo travellers with innovative players like Skyroam entering the picture. You can know more about Skyroam or order a device for yourself through their website here.

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