        |   The Higher Education Wireless Access Consortium (HEWAC) and WiSE Technologies Announce Grant Competition to Donate Campus Wireless Networks to 10 Select Colleges and Universities Nationwide San Diego, California (February 25, 2004) - The Higher Education Wireless Access Consortium (HEWAC) in conjunction with WiSE Technologies today announced plans to conduct a competition whereby 10 U.S. colleges will receive a grant of a campus wireless network that includes free equipment and installation. In addition, one of these 10 colleges will also receive an additional donation, which will consist of free network management services and broadband connection for 3 years. The competition is intended to showcase the benefits and use of wireless technology on college campuses. The colleges that may benefit most from this grant would be those with a significant percentage of students with laptops, but lacking the capital to deploy the equipment and infrastructure needed to adequately cover the campus. “While a number of schools have experimented with deploying Wi-Fi in a few locations, the ability to realize the full potential of wireless access is only reached when most of the campus is un-wired. The ability to do this should not be limited to just a few well funded higher learning institutions. The enhancement of a student's experience through wireless technology at ALL college campuses is one of HEWAC's most important goals,” said Thomas Muleta, Co-Founder and Chairman of HEWAC. Mr. Muleta further explained, “Institutions of higher learning around the world are starting to recognize the advantages that broadband wireless technology offers to students, faculty, staff, as well as the surrounding community. With this competition, HEWAC wants to provide the means and expertise to allow ALL our members to experience the benefits that this technology has to offer.” WiSE Technologies, a leading wireless internet service provider, feels strongly that college campuses are in the early stages of benefiting from the use of broadband wireless technology. Gary Murray II, President and CEO of WiSE Technologies said, “WiSE Technologies sees higher education as a primary sector for showcasing the benefits of the truly transformational technology that broadband wireless represents. We are pleased to work with HEWAC in providing an opportunity for the ALL institutions to aspire to the same level of wireless access that is normally limited to the early adopters.” HEWAC and WiSE will open a nationwide dialogue with public and private institutions (including community colleges) in order to collect grant applications from interested schools so as to determine schools that will be eligible for these 10 grants. Eligibility details and competition rules will be provided by March 31, 2004. WiSE and HEWAC are targeting the ten grant winners will be notified of their award in time for the fall semester of 2004. After installation, WiSE will additionally canvas popular off-campus locations to recruit these sites into their WiSE-Zone network of affiliated “hot spots” for additional convenience and enjoyment of students, faculty and staff. About HEWAC The Higher Education Wireless Access Consortium (HEWAC) is the only non- profit, member-driven, organization solely focusing on wireless technology for higher education. HEWAC goes beyond technology for technology's sake and views broadband wireless technology as an enabling tool to support its member's individual, educational and social missions. The organization was created to provide a forum for the most senior technology leaders of colleges and universities in which to cooperatively share their ideas and experiences. HEWAC will champion and share best practices, bridge gaps of knowledge, bring communities of interest together, provide a common ground for resolving issues, provide a unified voice to regulatory concerns, lessen the burden of risk and innovation and share the reward of working together. For more information, please visit www.hewac.org. About WiSE TechnologiesWiSE Technologies is a premier Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP). Through Wireless LAN (Local Area Network) technology, WiSE provides wireless internet access to the general public through “hotspots” known as “WiSE Zones.”, strategically located in such places as Airports, cafes, educational institutions and conference centers. The quality and popularity of its products and services has made WiSE the fastest growing provider of its kind. WiSE's mission is to increase people's productivity and enjoyment of the internet by giving them high-speed wireless access in the locations they frequent most. For more information, please visit www.wisezone.net. For more information contact: Jim Kabbani |
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