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IKANO PRESS RELEASES
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IKANO Press Releases:
Title: IKANO COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCES OWNERSHIP OF ONE OF THE
LARGEST FOR-PAY PUBLIC WI-FI NETWORKS IN THE U.S.
Date: August 28th, 2002
For Release: IMMEDIATE
IKANO Brings Global Access to Mobile Customers
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - IKANO Communications, the market-leading IP network infrastructure company and provider of branded Internet services, announced today that it now owns one of the nation's largest for-pay public Wi-Fi networks. This technology enables companies to offer their customers wireless access, as well as integrates user authentication, authorization, and accounting controls in a public, global, for-pay wireless network.
IKANO purchased the "WiFi Metro" network from hereUare Communications, the leading global provider of enabling technology of for-pay, public network access, aggregation and billing services. This substantial enhancement to IKANO's product line will enable the company to expand its product offering for existing clients and channel partners.
IKANO's Wi-Fi network will operate under the registered trademark, "Hotspotzz". The backend software solution integrated into the Hotspotzz network is called "Spotzz".
IKANO provides private-label Internet services to more than 300 business clients, including Internet Service Providers, Fortune 1000 companies and direct selling companies. The Hotspotzz Wi-Fi network will give IKANO's clients a significant competitive edge, and in time will offer them a new source of revenue. IKANO's new Hotspotzz WiFi network seamlessly integrates with IKANO's existing branded ISP solution.
The Hotspotzz network utilizes the international standard IEEE 802.11b to bring for-pay, public Wi-Fi network access to public places virtually anywhere on the globe. Customers use Wi-Fi-enabled laptops and other mobile devices to connect to the Internet anywhere within close proximity of the access point. Spotzz utilizes "eCoinBox" technology to provide access control, accounting and auditing functions for the Hotspotzz network and for affiliate networks. In addition, Spotzz will drive all back-end infrastructure for authentication, roaming and settlement services. This suite of tools enables anyone with bandwidth access to a public location to deploy Hotspotzz network locations.
IKANO now owns 149 Hotspotzz wireless-enabled locations in national and regional retail chains, hotels, business centers, and independent cafes and restaurants. Hotspotzz locations include the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles/Orange County, San Diego, Chicago, Seattle, and Boston. These hot spots comprise a significant percentage of the U.S. public wireless Wi-Fi hot spots in the United States.
IKANO is one of the nation's pioneers of wireless Internet access. In 1999, IKANO became the first company to build and deploy wireless networks in Salt Lake City (Utah); Park City (Utah); Chicago (Illinois); Yarmouth (Nova Scotia); and Minden (Ontario). In addition, IKANO deployed Salt Lake City's first wireless solution for the Utah Governor's Mansion and the Devereaux House during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
"This acquisition expands IKANO's existing wireless Internet access footprint, enabling us to provide extensive high-speed wireless Internet access for our US-based branded partners and end-users," said Henry Smith, IKANO President and CEO. "Spotzz provides a much-needed, superior broadband solution for customers who roam."
According to Smith, a recognized Internet industry expert, "Wi-Fi has all the makings of a pervasive, explosive technology: huge growth, a strong value proposition, multiple and expanding uses, industry standardization, and global standardization."
The Technology
802.11b is a wireless technology for transmitting data at 11 Mbps. The technology operates within the unlicensed 2.4 GHz industrial band, the same wavelength used by certain household appliances.
The advantages of fixed wireless are numerous, including the speed and ease of deployment, and the ease at which the network can be upgraded to accommodate more users. With data rates up to 11 Mbps, wireless LANs can provide data throughput more than 20 times the speed of DSL. The user experience is the same as mainstream broadband Internet with the added convenience of being free of wires.
The Wi-Fi Market
The Wi-Fi market continues to expand. According to Cahners In-Stat Group, more than ten million Wi-Fi products will be installed by the end of this year. Frost & Sullivan forecasts Wi-Fi manufacturers' revenues to reach $884 million by the end of 2002.
According to "The Wireless LAN Report" by U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Equity Research, 802.11b technology offers compelling value in enterprise, public and home LAN environments. The bottom line: "We believe the industry is currently reaching a major inflection point for widespread adoption, which leads us to leave this overall message to service providers and major communications OEMs - 802.11b is a disruptive technology. Get on the train, or get hit by the train."
According to In-Stat/MDR the "recent migration" of 802.11 as an operating standard into the license-exempt fixed wireless broadband market in the U.S. will result in a much needed growth spurt for the broadband fixed wireless market. Residential subscriptions to fixed wireless broadband in the U.S. will grow from approximately 338K in the end of 2001 to 3.1 million by the end of 2006. Over this time period, licensed-exempt services will have the greatest growth with residential subscribers growing from 123K in 2001 to almost 2.5 million by 2006.
About IKANO Communications
IKANO is a market-leading Full Service Provider (FSP) of Internet networking infrastructure and private-label Internet services. IKANO provides turnkey processes for businesses and organizations wishing to leverage the Internet to enhance communications with customers, employees or members. IKANO served as the Official Data Networking Services Provider for the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. IKANO is the parent company of SISNA, one of the nation's original Internet Service Providers, and Interhop/auracom, offering ISP franchises and consumer Internet services throughout Canada. Hotspotzz is a wholly owned subsidiary of IKANO. For more information visit www.ikano.com.
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