Before smartphones and free Wi-Fi, a business traveler's laptop was only as useful as the next phone jack. iPass struck deals with hundreds of internet providers to build a global network of access points. It sold companies one account that worked almost anywhere. Its software found a local connection and handled the billing behind the scenes. iPass went public in July 2003, one of the first tech offerings to do well after the crash.

Other People's Networks

iPass bet that it could stitch other companies' networks into one service and sell it to corporate IT departments. It owned little infrastructure of its own. Its value lay in the agreements, the client software and the security that made remote access safe for large employers. As travelers moved from dial-up to hotel broadband and Wi-Fi, iPass followed them. Large corporations signed on to give their whole traveling workforce one way to connect.

A Long Way From Dial-Up

iPass priced its IPO at $14 a share in July 2003 and listed on Nasdaq. The shares rose sharply at first. Over the next decade, free Wi-Fi and mobile data wore away the need for its service. The company shifted toward Wi-Fi software and data. Pareteum, a telecom software company, acquired iPass in early 2019. By then its original dial-up service was long gone.

Cover: Nissaka: Sayo Mountain Pass (Nissaka, Sayo no nakayama), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi)," also known as the Hoeido Tokaido, Utagawa Hiroshige. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a mountain pass.