iPhone, iPad now represent 83% of WiFi mobile devices

The company's WiFi Snapshot report notes that smartphones and tablets now make up 58.9 percent of all devices using the company's networks installed within 60 airports in North America and Europe and 400,000 other WiFi hotspots globally.

Among those mobile devices, iOS makes up 83 percent of the traffic. The firm said Android has tripled its share from last year "but is still a distant fourth place to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices."

"Given the latest numbers, I think it's safe to say 2011 is the year Wi-Fi became an essential part of mobile Internet connectivity," Dawn Callahan, the vice president of consumer marketing for Boingo Wireless said.

"Since the launch of the iPhone in June 2007, we've seen a marked growth trend for non-laptop devices, but the exponential growth in iPhones and iPads in the last year pushed mobile devices past laptops, showcasing just how disruptive the trend is."