ICOA Closes Acquisition of WiSE Technologies
June 01 2005 - 11:01AM
PR Newswire (US)
ICOA Closes Acquisition of WiSE Technologies WARWICK, R.I., June 1
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ICOA, Inc. (OTC:ICOA) (BULLETIN BOARD:
ICOA) , a national provider of wireless broadband Internet networks
and managed services in airports, restaurants, marinas and hot
zones, announced today it has closed its acquisition of WiSE
Technologies, Inc., a Landover, Md. provider of Wi-Fi services to
airports, hospitality, higher education, multiple dwelling units
(MDUs), highway plazas and cafes. The WiSE footprint includes over
50 high-traffic public locations including airports, university
campuses, travel plazas, hotels, cafes, marinas and large apartment
complexes (MDUs). All WiSE locations will be integrated into ICOA's
national infrastructure. WiSE Technologies, through a contract with
HMSHost and other strategic partners, provides broadband wireless
and wired/kiosk public Internet access in 12 airports. The contract
with HMSHost includes the option for expansion into 59 additional
airports worldwide. WiSE currently provides service in
Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), LaGuardia
International Airport (LGA), JFK International Airport (JFK), Ted
Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), Buffalo Niagara
International Airport (BUF), Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH),
San Diego International Airport (SAN), Chattanooga Metropolitan
Airport (CHA), West Palm Beach Airport (WPB), Miami International
Airport (MIA), Omaha Airport (OMA) and El Paso International
Airport (ELP). Under a contract with HMSHost, WiSE Technologies
recently deployed broadband wireless Internet service in two
highway travel plazas with the option to expand service into 95
additional highway travel plazas across North America. Under an
umbrella agreement with the Higher Education Wireless Access
Consortium (HEWAC), WiSE and ICOA have deployed and are managing
five campus- wide broadband wireless networks. The five-year HEWAC
agreement includes the option to extend the program to 10 new
campuses per year with the company serving as the exclusive
wireless Internet service provider. Rick Schiffmann, ICOA's CEO,
said, "We are pleased WiSE has joined the ICOA family of companies.
With the addition of the WiSE footprint, ICOA serves broadband
wireless services to more airports in the U.S. than any other
provider. In addition to strengthening our airport market presence,
this acquisition includes contracts providing a strong foundation
in higher education and highway travel plazas." Gary Murray, II,
founder and president of WiSE, joins the company as director of
business development to focus on new business opportunities,
enhancing ICOA's strategic partnerships and increasing network
customer utilization. Najib Kabbani, WiSE executive vice president,
joins the company to focus on the higher education segment, among
other duties. About ICOA, Inc. ICOA, Inc. is a national provider of
neutral-host wireless and wired broadband Internet networks in
high-traffic public locations. ICOA provides design, installation,
operations, maintenance and management of neutral, common-use
802.11x standard WLAN Wi-Fi hot spot and hot zone infrastructure
throughout airport facilities, quick-service restaurants, marinas,
hospitality and hot zone locations. ICOA owns or operates over
1,100 broadband access installations in high-traffic locations
across 45 states. For additional information, visit
http://www.icoacorp.com/ . An investment profile about ICOA may be
found online at http://www.hawkassociates.com/icoa/profile.htm .
For more information, contact ICOA VP of Corporate Development John
Balbach at (401) 352-2368, email . For investor relations, contact
Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, Hawk Associates, at (305)
451-1888, e-mail: . An online investor relations kit containing
ICOA press releases, SEC filings, current Level II price quotes,
interactive Java stock charts and other useful information for
investors can be found at http://www.hawkassociates.com/ and
http://www.hawkmicrocaps.com/ . The foregoing contains
"forward-looking statements," which are based on management's
beliefs, as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future
events and information currently available to management. Readers
are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are
subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of
which are outside ICOA's control, that could cause actual results
to differ materially from such statements. For a more detailed
description of the factors that could cause such a difference,
please see ICOA's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. ICOA disclaims any intention or obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. This information is
presented solely to provide additional information to further
understand the results of ICOA. DATASOURCE: ICOA, Inc. CONTACT:
John Balbach, VP of Corporate Development, ICOA, +1-401-352-2368,
or ; or investors, Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, both of Hawk
Associates, +1-305-451-1888, or , for ICOA Web site:
http://www.icoacorp.com/
http://www.hawkassociates.com/icoa/profile.htm
http://www.hawkassociates.com/ http://www.hawkmicrocaps.com/
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