Municipal and Mesh Wi-Fi Leaders Gather to Discuss Industry Evolution




February 2 Symposium Organized by the Portable Computer and Communications Association to Address the Technologies That Will Drive Adoption

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -/January 17, 2006 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- The Portable Computer and Communications Association (PCCA), a leading not-for-profit association of companies working together to create a vital, thriving industry in mobile computing, today announced the presenters and agenda for its symposium on municipal and mesh Wi-Fi.

The symposium, to be held February 2 in San Francisco, California is hosted by PCCA member iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS), a leading provider of secure mobility services for the enterprise.

The all-day symposium will include presentations from high-level technologists, including CTOs and founders of the foremost companies in the mesh and municipal Wi-Fi business area, such as BelAir Networks, Cisco Systems, iPass, Motorola Mesh Network Products Group and Tropos Networks. The agenda will incorporate: technical aspects of mesh Wi-Fi deployments; capacity, scaling and interference management; IEEE 802.11s standardization and implications; and multi-radio mesh networks for total municipal wireless solutions.

In addition, NetMotion Wireless will detail scenarios for Wi-Fi and 3G mobility architectures; and the Corporate Information Exchange, which manages the Sacramento hotzone, will present on what drives Wi-Fi metro networks.

"Mesh Wi-Fi provides inherent advantages over competing wireless technologies by providing high-capacity broadband wireless service to potentially large numbers of users. However, there are also technical and logistical challenges in making this a mainstream technology deployed over entire cities," said Peter Rysavy, executive director of the PCCA. "This meeting will constructively assess the state of this industry with the goal of identifying the best approaches for these technologies and the overall direction that the industry is heading. This meeting is timely as there is a lot of confusion and controversy about mesh Wi-Fi. Attendees will obtain clarity about the exact capabilities of these networks."

"American cities are looking to the convenient, cost-effective high-speed connectivity of municipal Wi-Fi networks to further enable their civic infrastructures and increase economic development," said Ken Denman, chairman and CEO of iPass. "However, many technical challenges -- such as security and roaming -- must be addressed in order for municipal Wi-Fi to become a viable productivity tool for the mobile workforce. By bringing together the leaders in this industry, the PCCA is helping to ensure these technical challenges are addressed so that municipal Wi-Fi can help deliver productivity anywhere users find themselves on any device being used."

One objective of this meeting is to assess the impact of municipal and mesh Wi-Fi on 3G and WiMAX networks, and to what extent these technologies are competitive or complementary. Another objective is to determine which applications will drive these networks, including Internet access and VoIP. The PCCA is unique in bringing together key technologists, often from competing companies, to collaborate on complex issues to help move the wireless industry forward. Attendees have a unique opportunity to interact and ask questions that cannot generally be addressed in other industry forums or conferences.

Full details, including agenda and registration information, are available on the web at http://www.pcca.org.


About the PCCA

Founded in 1992, The Portable Computer and Communications Association is a non-profit trade association whose mission statement is to promote interoperability for mobile computing and communications through standards, recommendations, testing and technical assessment. PCCA members include wireless operators, wireless device vendors, computer companies, wireless infrastructure software vendors, and networking companies. Membership is open to all companies and individuals with an interest in these disciplines. For information on PCCA committees, standards and membership, visit the Web site http://www.pcca.org.



About iPass Inc.

iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS) delivers simple and manageable enterprise mobility services that help maximize the productivity of workers as they move between office, home and remote locations. iPass security services -- based on unique Policy Orchestration capabilities -- work to close the gaps in protecting computers, network assets, user identities and data whenever users connect over the Internet. iPass connectivity services utilize the iPass global virtual network, a unified network of hundreds of dial-up, wireless and broadband providers in over 160 countries. iPass services are the choice of hundreds of Global 2000 corporations including General Motors, Eastman Kodak Company and Mellon Financial. Founded in 1996, iPass is headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif., with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information visit http://www.ipass.com.