NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
11 August 2003

HIGH-SPEED WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS SERVICES NOW AVAILABLE IN AREAS OF DOWNTOWN; PLANNING UNDERWAY FOR FUTURE CITYWIDE EXPANSION

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed and WIRELESS INFOTECH® LLC President and Chief Executive Officer Todd Snyder today announced that high-speed wireless Internet access services are now available in most of downtown, thanks to the joint efforts of the city and WIRELESS INFOTECH® LLC. The state-of-the-art wireless information technology (IT) service is now available in downtown Harrisburg in the Market Square, Restaurant Row and Capitol Complex areas of the city, with plans to expand the service citywide now moving forward.

Reed said the new wireless service, entitled ‘be loose—Downtown’, is the first to be offered in Pennsylvania’s capital city, and provides for high-speed wireless Internet access to laptop computers and PDA devices that are equipped with an 802.11b wireless local area networking (WLAN) card. The innovative new networking platform is also equipped to accommodate the ever-evolving 802.11 WLAN standard. For example, although they are not currently being offered, the network is already capable of supporting 802.11a and 802.11g.

“This is one of the most significant developments in Harrisburg’s evolving information technology infrastructure,” said Mayor Stephen R. Reed. “High-speed wireless Internet service is clearly the next wave of technological advance in the personal computing industry, and given its substantial business and visitor base, downtown Harrisburg is the prime location in the midstate for the launch of such service.”

Reed said the innovative new street-level wireless service has been in the design and planning stages for several years, and is a joint effort of the city, which helped provide capital funding for the effort, and WIRELESS INFOTECH? LLC. Various downtown locations have been equipped with the necessary transmitting and reception antennae and other hardware, making the service available to anyone located in or visiting the Market Square, Restaurant Row, and Capitol Complex areas. As use of the service grows, additional equipment will be installed to expand the coverage area throughout the entire downtown, with a goal to provide high-speed wireless Internet access citywide.

“We are thrilled to offer this exciting new service to downtown,” said Todd Snyder, President and Chief Executive Officer of WIRELESS INFOTECH? LLC. “There is clearly a need for advanced wireless information technology services in the central business district, given the large number of business travelers who daily conduct business with the many state agencies and other businesses located there.

“Our new service significantly enhances Harrisburg’s ability to draw in new and retain existing businesses by offering them the ability to utilize a very robust and highly flexible wireless information technology infrastructure. We are delighted to partner with Mayor Reed and the City of Harrisburg in bringing this dynamic technology to downtown, and look forward to expanding it throughout the city and region in the coming months and years.”

Reed said the new high-speed wireless Internet service will offer a variety of affordable access plans, contingent upon the amount of time needed by the user. Access packages, ranging from annual to hourly rates, are very affordably priced for pre-paid credit card purchase over WIRELESS INFOTECH’S secure Internet access portal. Though the wireless service is available to anyone located in or visiting the targeted downtown areas, network extension sites are now being established in other parts of the city and the surrounding area as well.

The Mayor said potential users should look for WIRELESS INFOTECH’s distinctive blue ‘be loose—Downtown’ logo, which will be prominently displayed in the available downtown service areas and host extension sites, including at Harrisburg International Airport.

Internet users wishing to utilize the access service in downtown must follow these simple steps:

1. Ensure that an 802.11b WLAN card is properly installed in their PC or PDA.
2. Ensure the WLAN SSID(Service Set Identifier) is set correctly for their PC or PDA—For Harrisburg, the SSID is WITHBG1.
3. Launch their Internet browser and wait a few seconds. They will then be notified they are making a secure connection. They must then Click OK to connect to the access portal.
4. At the access portal they can pick a pricing plan and set up their network account.
5. Enter their username and password if they’ve chosen a recurring monthly rate plan, or, enter their credit card number and PIN number if they’ve chosen an online prepaid card.
6. Enjoy the service! It’s that simple. If support services are needed, users Can contact the customer care teams, 24 hours per day, seven days per week, at the tollfree number 1.866.be.loose (1.866.235.6673).

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