Airmen can now tap into free high-speed Wi-Fi in dormitories at 25 Air Force bases with more installations scheduled to come online, through a deal with internet provider Boingo Wireless.
The contract, run by the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, taps into Boingo’s existing Wi-Fi infrastructure at bases across the U.S., plus one in Japan, according to an Oct. 29 announcement from Boingo.
Task & Purpose first reported on the announcement.
Currently, free Wi-Fi is available in dorms at 25 installations, according to an AAFES spokesperson:
Altus Air Force Base, Okla.
Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
Camp Bullis at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas
Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
Columbus Air Force Base, Miss.
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.
Dyess Air Force Base, Texas
Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.
Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.
Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas
Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.
Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex, Ala.
McChord Field at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.
Misawa Air Base, Japan
Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas
United States Air Force Academy, Colo.
Vance Air Force Base, Okla.
Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.
The AAFES spokesperson added that Wi-Fi will also soon be available at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Holloman still requires network configuration and service “is expected to be available within 30 to 45 days after the memorandum of agreement is executed,” the spokesperson said.
It’s unclear what other installations will get free Wi-Fi in the future under the Boingo contract, but the telecommunications firm’s announcement states that the deal includes “additional site deployments systematically underway to expand coverage.”
“Staying connected to family and friends makes a difference in Airmen’s daily lives and helps them stay mission ready,” Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Angela Holden, AAFES’ senior enlisted advisor, said in Boingo’s announcement. “This initiative is one more way the Exchange supports quality of life for Airmen while helping them feel more at home in their dorms.”
The AAFES contract with Boingo fulfills congressional guidance for the services to provide free Wi-Fi for service members that appeared in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.
“The Secretary of a military department may provide, to a member of the armed forces who resides in military unaccompanied housing (as defined in section 2871 of this title) within the United States, broadband internet access service, at no cost to such member,” according to the legislation.
The Air Force has acknowledged in the past that access to the internet is an essential tool for continued learning. “It would not be a blanket statement to say the whole Air Force [now] understands that … Wi-Fi is a necessity, as opposed to a convenience,” Lt. Gen. Marshall B. Webb, then-commander of Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas said in 2021.