Grand Rapids HotSpotsCoolCity Project Brings Free Wireless Internet Access to Kentwood Residents, Employees and Visitors

Grand Rapids, MI – August 3, 2005 – The Cities of Kentwood and Grand Rapids are pleased to announce the launch of Kentwood’s wireless broadband demonstration network. The network, which extends approximately a half-mile in all directions around Kentwood’s City Hall, is provided by Vivato, Inc. and Pronto Networks. Use of the network will be free to all users during an 8-week demonstration period.

“One thing that makes this project special is that so many people and organizations, from government to businesses to non-profits, have formed a partnership to work collaboratively to bring wireless broadband technology to our community. Something must be right with this whole concept to excite so many organizations. I want to thank Mayor Root and the City of Kentwood for hosting this demonstration; together we can give our region a competitive advantage,” said Mayor George K. Heartwell.

“I am excited to work with wireless technology providers like Vivato and Pronto Networks to bring wireless Internet access to our community,” said Kentwood Mayor Richard Root. “During this testing phase, the wireless internet is available in a limited area around City Hall. It remains my goal to construct a city-wide wireless network without a burden on taxpayers, and we’re confident we can do so by working with these innovative companies. They understand the technology, how to build it, how to operate it; and we understand the important uses that can be applied to police and fire services, addressing the digital divide and creating an environment for economic development.”

“Because of Vivato’s extended range and lower equipment cost, cities like the Cities of Kentwood and Grand Rapids can enjoy a much lower total cost of ownership for a large wireless hot zone,” said Dan Vortherms, Vice President of Network Operations, Vivato. “We are looking forward to working with Grand Rapids and with Pronto Networks,” Vortherms added.

Pronto Networks supplied the key back-office operational functions for the deployment, including customer portal customization and quality of service. Pronto is also hosting the wireless service from its managed services operation in San Jose, CA.

“We are pleased to be working with industry leader Vivato in bringing seamless wireless connectivity to the Cities of Kentwood and Grand Rapids,” said Jasbir Singh, president and CEO of Pronto Networks. “Our joint deployment at Kentwood City Hall highlights how easy it is for city employees and visitors alike to log onto the network and quickly get the information they need. We’re honored to be part of the City of Grand Rapids’ HotSpotsCoolCity wireless demonstration and applaud their forward-thinking initiative to develop a community broadband network.”

About Grand Rapids HotSpotsCoolCity Program
The Grand Rapids HotSpotsCoolCity wireless demonstration networks are being deployed in a phased approach over the summer months. The project involves ten demonstration network sites and participating vendors. Each demonstration network will be a minimum of ¼-square mile by ¼-square mile in size, and wireless network use will be free to all for the duration of the demonstration. The wireless demonstration networks are all deployed and operated at the vendor’s expense. Demonstration results and recommendations regarding an optimum course of action will be reported following the demonstration projects. A request for proposal for a citywide wireless network will be issued following the demonstration networks. For more information, please visit: www.wirelessgr.com

About Vivato
Vivato, Inc. is a wireless systems infrastructure company with technology that is based upon an innovative signal processing and antenna design. Vivato’s unique system architecture enables cost-effective, large-scale outdoor and indoor wireless deployments for metros, rural communities, airports, seaports, warehouses and universities. Vivato is headquartered in Spokane, Washington. For more information, please visit www.vivato.com or call 1-866-802-1600.

About Pronto Networks
Pronto Networks, based in Pleasanton, Calif., provides carrier-class Operations Support Systems (OSS) that enable network operators to deploy and manage large public hot spot and hot zone networks. The company’s software handles provisioning, configuration, authentication, access control, security, pre-paid and post-paid billing, and roaming settlement for large public WLAN networks, in addition to remotely managing and updating multi-vendor hardware and Wi-Fi switches. Pronto Networks is funded by BV Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and the Intel Communications Fund. Pronto Networks was recently named to the AlwaysOn List of Top 100 Private Companies for the third consecutive year, and in 2003 received Wired Magazine’s Top 25 Wi-Fi Companies to Watch and Computerworld’s Innovative Technology Awards. For more information about Pronto Networks, visit www.prontonetworks.com

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