IKANO Press Releases:

IKANO Ranked Fifth Fastest Growing Company in Utah 100 Awards Program - IKANO Achieves Five-Year Revenue Growth Rate of 3,120%

Date: April 28th, 2003
Release: IMMEDIATE

Boston, Massachusetts – The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Inc Magazine ranked IKANO Communications third in the "Inner City 100," a listing of the fastest growing companies located in America's inner cities. IKANO was one of only three Utah companies recognized in the Inner City 100, based on 5,000 companies nominated from 155 cities.

With an explosive five-year growth rate of 3,019 percent, IKANO achieved the highest Inner City 100 ranking from a Utah company in the history of the program. The average annual growth rate for 2003 Inner City 100 companies was a stunning 647 percent for the five-year period 1997-2001.

The Inner City 100 rankings are based on revenue growth of nominated companies that have at least 51 percent of their operations in economically distressed urban areas. A joint venture between Inc Magazine and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, the Inner City 100 recognizes growing companies located inside cities and focuses public attention on the role those companies play in creating jobs and rebuilding the economies of America's inner cities. The Inner City 100 companies are profiled in Inc.'s May issue.

"It is an honor to be nominated among such an impressive list of companies revitalizing the economies of our inner cities," said Henry Smith, IKANO president and CEO. "Despite the slowing economy, IKANO is thriving," says Smith. "We are growing the business by continually developing strategic partnerships with new clients and rolling out new, value-added products."

IKANO partners with Internet Service Providers to help lower operating costs, increase revenue and expand geographic reach/product offering. In addition, IKANO provides turnkey processes for businesses and organizations wishing to leverage the Internet to better communicate with customers, employees, or members. IKANO attributes its tremendous growth and success to a solid business model, a forward-thinking management team, and products that stay ahead of the technology curve.

Another key ingredient to IKANO's success was the company's gold-medal performance as the Official Data Services Supplier for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. In this critical role, every piece of data, large and small, passed through one of the world's most complex networks without a single interruption. IKANO received the "Order of Excellence" award for its performance in the 2002 Games.

In late 2002, IKANO launched "HOTSPOTZZ," one of the nation’s largest for-pay public Wi-Fi networks. HOTSPOTZZ 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. HOTSPOTZZ recently teamed with Intel Corporation to drive awareness of Wi-Fi (802.11) hotspots -- areas where notebook users can connect to the Internet and corporate networks wirelessly.

IKANO has received a total of $33.5 million in venture capital funding. During the past five years, the company expanded from 50 employees to more than 350 employees, creating a multitude of employment opportunities in Salt Lake City and its current office locations in Logan, Ohio and Toronto, Ontario. Given the company’s continued growth, IKANO is a proven Utah technology success story. In October 2002, the Mountain West Venture Group ranked IKANO the sixth fastest growing company in the state of Utah as part of its Utah 100 Awards program.

The Inner City 100 is the brainchild of Harvard Business School professor and ICIC founder Michael E. Porter, who wanted to focus public attention on the instrumental role that entrepreneurial companies play in rebuilding the economies of inner cities. "The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and Inc. Magazine created the Inner City 100 list in 1997 as a way of highlighting the fact that business opportunities exist in America’s inner cities, and that smart business owners are using the location to their advantage," said Michael Porter, Harvard Business School professor and ICIC’s founder and CEO. "But for the past couple of years the list has been more revealing. It shows that inner-city business operators have learned how to adapt their businesses to the challenges of a down economy, to identify growth opportunities and to pursue them vigorously. The reality is, they are the leading edge of a new business model."

About IKANO Communications, Inc.
IKANO Communications was founded over 10 years ago as a regional Internet service provider in the Intermountain West and since then has flourished to become the industry leader in private-label, wholesale, and retail Internet services. IKANO leverages its ISP platform to provide outstanding services at highly competitive prices. The company's rapid growth and excellence in the field have resulted in IKANO's ranking in the Inc. 500, Technology Fast 500, Inner City 100, Utah 100, and Call Center of the Year.

Companies interested in learning more about IKANO should contact info@ikano.com, or call 877.492.0121.

About Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) is a national, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School Professor Michael E. Porter, following several years of pioneering research on inner-city business and economic development. With affiliates in three cities and significant on-the-ground activities in many others, ICIC has rapidly established itself as a national force in inner-city economic development. By identifying the competitive potential of inner cities; strategic location, local market demand, growth opportunities via integration with the regional economy and availability of labor, ICIC aims to build the business case for doing business in America’s inner cities. ICIC’s mission is to spark new thinking about the business potential of inner cities, thereby creating jobs and wealth for inner-city residents. For more information, please visit our web site at www.icic.org.

About Inc
Inc is the leading magazine written for the men and women who own and manage small-to-midsized, fast-growing companies. Published 12 times a year, Inc helps its 1.5 million readers by providing expert advice and practical solutions as they face the opportunities, pitfalls, and rewards of growing a company. inc.com (www.inc.com), the Web site for growing companies, was named Best Online Magazine by Folio and Best Overall New Publication (all media) by the Computer Press Association.