iPass and T–Mobile Partner On Wi-Fi Hotspots Across Europe
T-Mobile provides nearly 15,000 Wi-Fi hotspots for the iPass Global Broadband Roaming network
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. -/April 3, 2006 - Wi-Fi Technology iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS) today announced a partnership with T-Mobile to incorporate T-Mobile's and T-Com's European Wi-Fi hotspot networks into the iPass Global Broadband Roaming network. More than 800,000 unique quarterly iPass users are expected to benefit from access to over 8,000 new locations in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria and the Czech Republic.
The T-Mobile HotSpot and T-Com HotSpot networks include thousands of business-friendly locations that will enable iPass customers to connect quickly and securely to their company network. The T-Mobile HotSpot and T-Com HotSpot networks will soon be available to iPass customers at familiar venues throughout Europe, including Starbucks coffeehouses and international airports like London Heathrow and Frankfurt, in addition to existing U.S. T-Mobile HotSpot locations like Starbucks, Borders Books & Music stores, Hyatt Hotels and San Francisco and Dallas/Fort Worth international airports.
"Over the last 18 months the popularity of Wi-Fi has grown dramatically. We have reached a point where the usability, security and quality of our HotSpot service means that customers are demanding to use our network to get connected to their business," said Andre Stark, EVP of Business Marketing for T-Mobile International. "iPass is a truly visionary player in the enterprise connectivity market and one of our key strategic partners across the world. Our existing partnership with them in the US has been very successful and brought many customers to our network. We are looking forward to seeing the same impact in Europe," he added.
As part of the integration process, T-Mobile's and T-Com's European Wi-Fi hotspots will be put through the iPass Enterprise Ready certification program to ensure they are ready for use by iPass' customers. The venues will be tested to ensure network quality and service availability standards as well as interoperability with policy and security tools, such as virtual private networks, personal firewalls and anti-virus software.
"As the wireless access market matures, we are looking to increase the size of our network, add new venues and services, and make it even more convenient for users to connect wherever they go. We're seeing greater demand all the time for new types of services such as security and mobile systems management, as well as new connectivity methods," said Anurag Lal, Senior Vice President, Strategic Services & Business Development, iPass. "By partnering with a truly international mobile operator like T-Mobile, we not only provide our customers with a robust and convenient transatlantic Wi-Fi hotspot network, we also expect to access next-generation connectivity technology like 3G, which has the potential to revolutionize how our customers work."
For a complete list of iPass-enabled wireless access points, please download the iPass hotspot finder from
http://www.ipass.com.
About iPass Inc.
iPass provides trusted connectivity services that help enterprises maximize their return on investment in workforce mobility. With flexible iPass connectivity, security and endpoint management services, customers can build and manage their own broadband remote access solutions for mobile workers, branch offices and home offices. The iPass virtual network spans 160 countries and includes both the world's largest Wi-Fi footprint and the most complete fixed broadband coverage in North America.
About T-Mobile International
T-Mobile International is one of the world's leading companies in mobile communications. As one of Deutsche Telekom's three strategic business units, T-Mobile concentrates on the most dynamic markets in Europe and the United States. By end of 2005, almost 87 million customers were served by companies of the Deutsche Telekom group. And all that over a common technology platform based on GSM, the world's most successful digital wireless standard. This also makes T-Mobile the only mobile communications provider with a seamless transatlantic service. For more information about T-Mobile International, please visit
http://www.t-mobile.net.
About T-Com
T-Com supplies its customers with broadband Internet access and customer-focused services on a state-of-the-art fixed network infrastructure. In this last financial year, T-Com made a major contribution to speeding up developments in the German and European broadband market. Over the whole of 2005, T-Com increased the number of DSL lines in Germany alone from around 2.1 million to 7.9 million compared to the end of 2004 (including resale—the marketing of upstream DSL products from T-Com by third parties). With around 41.2 million narrowband and 7.9 million broadband lines, T-Com is one of the largest fixed network providers in Europe. T-Com serves private and small business customers in Germany, and has a presence in Hungary, Macedonia and Montenegro (through Magyar Telekom), Croatia (T-Hrvatski Telekom) and Slovakia (Slovak Telekom). This broadband expansion is mainly supported by services based on WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) technology. To enable WLAN technology to be used in public places such as cafés, restaurants, airports or hotels, and not just on private premises or in offices, T-Com is working closely together with T-Mobile to develop hotspot locations.
| Forums:
