| Press Release |
| For more information contact: Patrick Herridge - Matra PR Tel. +44 20 7907 7800 pherridge@mantra-pr.com Or TOGEWAnet AG Bruno Chiarelli Tel. +41 31 341 1138 bruno.chiarelli@togewanet.com For Immediate Release |
| World's first large-scale deployment of SIM-based services for mobile operators |
| The Cloud brings International Operators onto its UK Nationwide Wi-Fi Network with WeRoam® |
| London, Berne, 13th October 2003 - The Cloud, Europe's largest Wi-Fi network, and WeRoam® the worlds largest SIM based GSM – Wireless LAN roaming broker, today announce an agreement to connect international operators, ISPs and corporate network providers to The Cloud's network of more than 2,500 Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK. WeRoam® by Togewanet AG is the first company to provide an integrated, SIM & EAP SIM-based service for mobile operator users on Wi-Fi networks, enabling mobile operators to easily authenticate and bill users for Wi-Fi usage on their existing GSM bill. The deal will see WeRoam® and The Cloud bring a number of European, Asian and American service providers and operators onto The Cloud's network, initially involving six operators, which will drive user traffic across the network. “WeRoam®'s SIM based solution is the glue between the GSMA Mobile Network Operators and the wireless ISP World, GSM network operators can literally turn on a global wireless LAN service overnight as easy as adding a GPRS Roaming agreement to their network offering, with the addition of The Cloud, Europe's largest WIFI network we will be able to offer the densest network coverage available in the UK” -Joseph Keleher VP Sales & Marketing WeRoam®. "This is a very important step in the growth and adoption of Wi-Fi services by operators and service providers," said The Cloud's technical director Niall Murphy. "Until today operators and service providers have been waiting for such a simple, secure, SIM-based access and billing solution that works on a worldwide basis. With this agreement we now enable hundreds of operators in the mobile, corporate and Internet access markets to provide seamless, nationwide Wi-Fi access to their customers, with a unique combination of both security and ease of use for users. As a wholesale network operator it is our mission to enable every customer from every service provider to access any available hotspot. This deal is a big step forward in achieving that vision." About The Cloud™ The Cloud™ is a broadband WLAN carrier-class network operator, providing Internet and enterprise network access services on a wholesale basis to a variety of operators. The Cloud's™ nationwide UK network is already the largest WLAN network in Europe, with WLAN access in over 2,500 locations so far this year and a rapid deployment schedule of an additional 100 sites a week. The Cloud™ also works with site owners to help them manage their estates more effectively and with leading technology providers to roll out innovative solutions for the wireless enterprise. The Cloud™ is owned by Inspired Broadcast Networks, the UK's leading provider of digital entertainment and broadband services to consumers outside of their homes. Inspired is the exclusive provider of all digital entertainment and gaming services to Leisure Link, the largest manager of coin operated entertainment and gaming machines in Europe. About TOGEWAnet The Swiss company TOGEWAnet AG, established in 2001 and owned by TOGEWA Holding, specialises in mobility management and roaming optimisation solutions for the mobile and wireless telecommunications sector. TOGEWAnet' WeRoam service facilitates the seamless integration of WLAN and GSM network technologies, enabling global roaming for WLAN services and thereafter facilitating automatic and secure roaming between WLAN, GSM and GPRS. Key solutions found in GSM technology have been adopted to make up the WeRoam® service, which provides secure authentication, signaling conversion, clearing and settlement services (based on TAP - Transferred Account Procedure) and management of contractual roaming agreements. This positions WeRoam® as the only open roaming platform supporting all relevant authentication methods for WLAN Roaming such as SIM, Radius and EAP SIM. Registration is pending to patent WeRoam®' innovative SIM based WLAN roaming technology. The subscriber will benefit from greater roaming coverage and the convenience of swapping between different standards with the additional advantage of having a single identity, thus receiving only one bill from his home network operator despite having visited a number of operators and countries and having used different mobile standards. Close ties with its' sister company, Comfone AG, also founded by the umbrella company of TOGEWA Group, allow TOGEWAnet to benefit from Comfone' depth of experience in offering a wide range of roaming services to GSM operators. For more information, please visit www.weroam.com |
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