ICOA! Wireless play! WARWICK, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 2003--ICOA, Inc., (OTCBB:ICOA - News) today announced a three-year agreement with LGW, LLC, owner and operator of California Yacht Marina (CYM) www.californiayachtmarina.com to deploy Wi-Fi Internet access at CYM's Marinas. CYM has over 1,800 boat slips at its four California marinas. Beginning with Port Royal Marina www.cymportroyal.com, ICOA will install and manage Wi-Fi services for four marinas owned and operated by LGW, LLC under a revenue sharing agreement.
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"ICOA's expansion into the maritime Wi-Fi market, a subset of the estimated $4 Billion maritime communications industry, demonstrates our focus on the high traffic profitable segments within the Wi-Fi industry, including airports, hotels and selected retail stores," noted George Strouthopoulos, CEO of ICOA.
"CYM is delighted to be working with ICOA to further enhance the quality of guest amenities and services at our marinas," added LaRue Thomas, Founder of California Yacht Marina.
ICOA's QGO business unit will be responsible for operating CYM's locations. In June 2003, QGO deployed a Wi-Fi "Hot Zone" in Newport, Rhode Island, America's premier boating and yachting destination. On July 1st, 2003, QGO initiated subscription authentication of Wi-Fi Internet access on the waterfront, at docks and in marinas.
Among the most enthusiastic users of this Wi-Fi service are the captain and crew of the Tazamas, a 93-foot charter sailboat. Wi-Fi offers the boat crew freedom and flexibility to do business from the boat any time of day. "We are not restricted to 9-5 office hours," said Mark Lumley, first mate of the Tazamas. "We can keep in touch with the owner of the boat, the broker who books the charters and suppliers of hard-to-find parts. We can log on and there it is."
QGO's authentication portal allows any Marina, harbor side restaurant or Marina Hotel to offer Wi-Fi service in its own way. There are many ways to offer the service. Specifically, Wi-Fi service for boat owners is being offered under a tiered price structure to accommodate both transients and seasonal customers. Nearby restaurants and hotels can offer customized packages to meet guests' needs.
QGO (www.goqgo.com) selected Vivato www.vivato.net as its vendor for Newport, RI because a single piece of infrastructure hardware - the Vivato Outdoor Wi-Fi switch - installed with a clear line of sight, easily reaches standard PC or PDA Wi-Fi clients across the whole harbor. "Because of the open water, RF propagation for Wi-Fi to all parts of the harbor is excellent," said Dennis DiBattista President of ICOA's QGO business unit. "And with Vivato's unique PacketSteering(TM) technology, the Wi-Fi "Hot Zone" covers over 10 square miles. This cost efficient system can be rapidly deployed at all of ICOA's Marina locations."
WARWICK, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 2003--ICOA, Inc., (OTCBB:ICOA - News), today announced it has completed the purchase of the assets of QGO, LLC. a national provider of wireless Internet connectivity (Wi-Fi) applications and services. ICOA is leveraging QGO's momentum with Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) venue operators to expand its Public Wireless LAN footprint.
Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA - News) a premiere QSR selected QGO this summer to provide the network hardware and authentication services for its nationwide Wi-Fi network. Panera Bread is rolling out free Wi-Fi service for its customers in its bakery-cafes.
Many business people are away from the office during the day as 'windshield warriors'. On the road they often need to review and upload large amounts of information from both suppliers and customers. Wi-Fi at Quick Service Restaurant chains meets their critical need for immediate high speed Internet access to remote systems and databases. Current estimates indicate there are more than 78 million 'windshield warriors' nationwide today.
"This acquisition instantly positions ICOA as a major Wi-Fi Service Provider to 'windshield warriors' at Quick Service Restaurant chains" noted George Strouthopoulos, CEO of ICOA. "As such, we are providing solutions that enable the venue operators to attract more customers and stimulate repeat visits."
ICOA and QGO (www.goqgo.com) a division of ICOA now own and operate a broadband-on-demand network with multiple Wi-Fi Internet access points across the country. QGO continues to operate under its current brand name and manages Wi-Fi Hot Spots and services for Quick Service Restaurants, Hotels and Marinas.
