ICOA Appoints Industry Veteran John Balbach as VP Corporate Development Warwick, R.I., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ICOA, Inc. (OTC:ICOA) (BULLETIN BOARD: ICOA) , a leading provider of neutral-host wireless broadband Internet networks and managed services in high-traffic public locations including airports, restaurants, marinas and hot zones, announced today the strengthening of its senior management team with the appointment of John Balbach as vice president of corporate development. ICOA President Rick Shiffmann said, "John is a pioneer of the broadband wireless industry. His deep industry experience scaling national providers will be a huge asset in our second phase of growth and beyond." Balbach brings a breadth of experience to ICOA encompassing telecom/IT, venture capital and government, including assisting the launching of over 15 technology companies and growth capital transactions exceeding $100 million. Most recently on the founding senior team of Cometa Networks, a venture of Intel, AT&T and IBM, Balbach developed the national launch strategies with McDonald's, Intel, Barnes & Noble, AT&T Wireless and PalmOne. With MobileStar Networks, the first national public Wi-Fi deployment, Balbach launched service for Starbucks Coffee in partnership with Compaq and MSN. Balbach was also a founding vice president of Blueprint Ventures, a $200 million Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Prior to his work in Silicon Valley, Balbach served as a senior aide in the U.S. Senate and co-founded the State of the World Forum, working closely with leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Vicente Fox, Oscar Arias, Margaret Thatcher, Thabo Mbeki, Benazir Bhutto and Hau Pei-Tsun. He holds a B.A. in international relations from George Washington University. Reporting to Shiffmann, Balbach will spearhead the company's corporate development, as well as drive the company's marketing and investor relations strategies. "Over the last year, ICOA has established a remarkable track record of success and a solid platform for rapid growth in an exciting industry," said Balbach. "I look forward to working with the world-class ICOA team and the opportunity to significantly enhance shareholder value as ICOA solidifies its emerging position as a nationally relevant broadband provider." About ICOA, Inc. Headquartered in Warwick, R.I., ICOA, Inc. is a leading 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 currently owns or operates over 670 broadband access installations in high-traffic locations serving tens of millions of annual patrons, including the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Spokane International Airport (GEG), the Greater Baton Rouge, La. Airport (BTR), Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Manchester Airport (MHT), Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV), Fresno-Yosemite International Airport (FYI), Killeen Municipal Airport (GRK), 450 Panera Bread locations, 40 marinas in California and Virginia, and hot zones in Lexington, Ky. and Rhode Island's Newport Harbor. 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 Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, Hawk Associates, at (305) 852-2383, e-mail: . Detailed information about ICOA, Inc. can be found on the website http://www.icoacorp.com/ . An online investor kit containing ICOA press releases, SEC filings, current price Level II 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: Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, both of Hawk Associates, +1-305-852-2383, or , for ICOA, Inc. 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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