Press Release

ONE and funknetz.at Conclude WLAN Cooperation

• ONE WLAN offer with subsidiary eWave and two WLAN partners this summer still
• funknetz.at for the first time cooperates with a mobile telephony operator

Prior to the launch of its ONE WLAN offer, the ONE subsidiary eWave has concluded its second WLAN partnership already. The cooperation partner funknetz.at contributes 48 locations, 32 thereof via national roaming with Vorarlberg online and exclusively furnishes up to 90 Agip gas stations with WLAN this year already. Thus, ONE will be able to offer a total of about 300 locations by eWave, metronet and funknetz.at from the very start, thus offering to its customers the densest WLAN hotspot network from one provider. Further cooperation arrangements will follow.

ONE will launch its WLAN offer this summer still and offer the densest WLAN hotspot network (Wireless Local Area Network) from one provider. For this purpose the company establishes its own hotspots via its subsidiary eWave, but also cooperates with existing WLAN providers. New aboard even before the ONE WLAN launch is funknetz.at with currently 48 hotspots.

“funknetz.at with the national roaming agreement with Vorarlberg online contributes important locations in Western Austria, which ideally complement our hotspot list. Moreover, all Agip gas stations in Austria are exclusively equipped with WLAN by funknetz.at “, says Jørgen Bang-Jensen, CEO of ONE. Its WLAN offer ONE now intends to launch with approximately 300 locations. Manuel Urbanek, managing director of funknetz.at on the company strategy: “This year we launch our hotspot offensive with particular emphasis on motorway gas stations and restaurants, gastronomy chains, hotels, camping and golf courses. Thanks to our cooperation with ONE, we can now fully concentrate on our ambitious rollout plans and continue to promote rollout.“

The hotspot network is becoming denser and denser

By the end of 2003, the ONE subsidiary eWave will establish a total of about 70 WLAN hotspots focusing on hotels in particular. In the case of funknetz.at, another 35 Agip locations will be added to the existing two Agip gas stations in Korneuburg in the summer months still. By the end of the year, however, the company plans to run more than 100 hotspots, thereof 70 to 90 Agip gas stations. metronet, which has recently embarked on a cooperation with ONE, plans to establish about 20 hotspots a month. Bang-Jensen: “We are delighted that WLAN providers have realised that comprehensive and simple offers, which are of real use to business customers, are possible only via cooperation. Customers using WLAN via ONE will not only have access to the biggest number of hotspots, but also alternatively to other technologies such as GPRS, HSCSD or in future also UMTS.“

Simple & fast through the web

WLAN enables simple, wireless, stationary Internet access at broadband speed by notebook or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) at the most frequented places, the so-called hotspots. In order to use the wireless Internet service, users merely need a WLAN-enabled device. WLAN is already integrated into new notebooks and PDAs, older models can be easily equipped with a WLAN card, which is already available in shops starting from € 39,-.“ A special configuration is not necessary.

funknetz.at facts & figures

With more than 400 Internet customers, www.funknetz.at Urbanek GmbH, the company founded in 1999 is one of the biggest radio Internet provider of Austria and with its radio cloud already covers an area of more than 2,500 km2. Apart from providing Internet access, funknetz.at also offers consultancy services for radio network operators in Austria and is also represented on the public wireless LAN market with its product “Austria hotspot”. Moreover, funknetz.at offers server housing, webspace, domain registrations, website design and building site documentation (via webcams) as well as live coverage on the Internet, video conferencing and video-on demand. The company employs eight staff and a number of freelancers.

eWave facts & figures

eWave Telekommunikation GmbH is 100 percent subsidiary of ONE (Connect Austria GmbH). The core business is formed by fixed line telephony and broadband Internet services via radio connection. At the moment eWave is working on establishing a hotspot network in Austria. With 40 employees the company currently services 25,000 customers.

In case of questions, journalists contact:
funknetz.at, Manuel Urbanek, Fon: 00431 - 29 29 699-0