WASHINGTON DC, November 11, 2003 Ð Assisting universities and colleges in deploying best of class wireless connectivity is the goal of the newly formed Higher Education Wireless Access Consortium (HEWAC).

"Universities and colleges see wireless access as being of great value to their students, faculty and staff, but there is currently a disconnect between the higher education community1s desire for wireless solutions and its ability to deploy those services effectively," Higher Education Wireless Access Consortium Executive Director, Randy Levine said. "As a result, true campus-wide wireless access across most U.S. campuses is lagging."

Central to HEWAC1s mission is the creation of a unified approach to the marketplace wherein universities and colleges joining the organization will be able to benefit from economies of scale, resulting in significantly better solutions and financial terms for the hardware, services and support that enable wireless access.

"Colleges want to acquire wireless services and solutions, but only with the knowledge that they are making informed decisions and on the best terms possible. Telecommunications providers want to satisfy that demand, but they are often stymied by the labyrinth nature of university procurement cycles. We believe HEWAC can act as an organizing force and conduit between these two discrete sectors, serving the shared interests of both," Levine said.

"HEWAC has identified an underserved portion of the telecommunications market, the higher education sector. By acting as a catalyst to aggregate wireless access solutions and services, HEWAC will provide a service of interest not only to universities and colleges, but also to the industry that want to increase their penetration in that bellwether market. It1s a very interesting concept," Gary Murray, II, CEO of Wise Technologies said.

To date, interest from the university sector has been strong. Early HEWAC Charter Members include Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Dalhousie University, Syracuse University, Stevens Institute of Technology, University of Tennessee, Colorado State University, University of Maryland, University of Washington, Washington State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Albany, George Mason University, St. John's University and Oregon State University.

On October 30, HEWAC hosted a symposium at The Tower Club in Tyson1s Corner, Virginia, at which a roster of leading experts from higher education, industry and government who spoke on the state of wireless deployment in the U.S. higher education sector.

The event1s keynote speaker was Dr. Rajendra "Raj" Singh, Chairman and Co-Founder of LCC International and Chairman of Telcom Ventures. Other speakers included: HEWAC Charter Member Chris Handley, Chief Information Officer, Stanford University; HEWAC Charter Member Dr. Paul Kolodzy, Director of Wireless Security, Stevens Institute of Technology; Vanu Bose, Chief Executive Officer, Vanu, Inc.; Marty Schoffstall, Founder, Schoffstall Ventures (Internet pioneer); and John Muleta, Bureau Chief, FCC Wireless Bureau. The event was moderated by Danny Adams, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.

In addition to the panel discussion, HEWAC Charter Members met in private session to discuss their more pressing needs in the deployment of wireless technology. The outcome of these discussions was the establishment of five working groups addressing: wireless applications, business models, security, new technology, and best practices/policy. A CIO or Sr. IT Manager from a Charter Member university will chair each of these areas. Each working group will interact with and seek input from with their peers and industry representatives to develop "solutions based requirement document" that will be the basis for defining the collective need of the higher education community with regards to wireless technology.

"Our participation in the HEWAC Symposium was of great benefit to Stanford University and we look forward to the next HEWAC event," Chris Handley, Stanford University CIO said.

"Wireless is truly a "disruptive" technology, one that requires the formation of a group such as HEWAC that is solely dedicated to wireless access on campus" University of Tennessee CIO, Brice Bible said.

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 member1s 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, see http://www.hewac.org

CONTACT: Randy Levine rlevine@hewac.org or 323-842-3388