ICOA News! ICOA Expands Wi-Fi Presence in Airports Nationwide; ICOA, Inc. Announces Letter of Intent to Acquire Airport Network Solutions
Business Wire - November 13, 2003 08:45
WARWICK, R.I., Nov 13, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ICOA, Inc. (OTC.BB:ICOA), today announced a Letter of Intent to acquire Airport Network Solutions (ANS), a privately held provider of Wi-Fi solutions to the airport industry, head-quartered in San Francisco, California.
ANS currently operates the Wi-Fi network throughout Sacramento International Airport (SMF). Under the terms of this agreement, Airport Network Solutions will operate as a subsidiary of ICOA and will manage all Wi-Fi airport relationships and installations. ANS will also assume management of ICOA's existing airport Wi-Fi network in Baton Rouge (BTR). With these two airports deployed, ICOA will offer Wi-Fi service to almost 10 million airport passengers per year.
"Airports are premium locations in which frequent business travelers are willing to pay for High-Speed Internet connectivity. We believe that airports are the beachfront property of the Wi-Fi revolution," said George Strouthopoulos, CEO of ICOA. He added, "ANS is a tremendous acquisition for us. Their management team brings extensive experience and understanding of the airport industry. ANS has a reputation for creating and providing solutions that generate revenue and meet the needs of airport management and passengers."
"The synergies between ICOA and ANS are clear. Instead of having redundant sales, service and support organizations, we can work together to offer both wired and wireless access to the traveling public in airports," said Rick Schiffmann, CEO of ANS. "At the majority of airport Hot Spots, ANS will seek to supplement Wi-Fi Access with Internet Terminals for users who do not carry laptop computers or PDAs."
"ANS fits with ICOA's stated mission of providing Wi-Fi Access wherever we have Internet Terminals; and Internet Terminals, wherever we have Wi-Fi Access. Both services can share Internet connectivity, national network infrastructure, ICOA's Network Operations Center (NOC), and our call center, as well as, credit card validation, transaction and billing systems. Synergies between the two services should greatly enhance ICOA's profitability," added ICOA's Director of Operations, Wil Ankerstjerne.
ICOA and ANS both handle transactional 'pay-as-you-go' users and are opening up their Hot Spots to subscribers of major carriers like Sprint PCS (NYSE:PCS), AT&T Wireless (NYSE:AWE) and others. By being 'open' ICOA and ANS will increase Wi-Fi usage and airport revenue.
About Airport Network Solutions (ANS) www.airportnetworksolutions.com.
ANS is a Wi-Fi solutions provider currently focused on the North American airport industry, providing 802.11x wireless access to public and private customers.
ANS currently operates a single, common-use Wi-Fi network throughout Sacramento International Airport (SMF), in the state capital of California, and is working with other North American airports on additional Wi-Fi contracts. Its management team has strong relationships throughout the airport industry and a proven track record for Wi-Fi systems design and installation.
