India telco One97 Communications invests in Singapore-based LeapSky Wireless

LeapSky Wireless, which is working on a solution that gives business travelers access to wireless Internet on mobile devices by tapping on the host country’s 3G network, has received new funding from India-based telecomms company One97 Communications.

Currently, business travelers are restricted to wifi access in the hotel, which often allows connection to one device, or they have to purchase a local 3G SIM card, which can have prohibitive costs. The hardware consists of a compact wifi router with a SIM card embedded within, giving customers hassle-free access to the Internet while on the go.

But their product purports to do more: Customers would not need to deal with a new mobile carrier when they visit a new country, since they now only need to register with LeapSky.

Besides travelers, partner operators would also benefit, since Leapsky would need to purchase 3G and Wifi bandwidth from them.

The company, which was incubated at the Singapore Management University Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, had also received seed funding from the Singapore government’s ‘Spring TECS-POV‘ grant.

The product is set for launch in the last quarter of this year.