Quiconnect

April 21, 2005

Sprint selects Quiconnect to expand its WiFi presence internationally

• Quiconnect to provide Sprint’s corporate customers with Wi-Fi access at airports and other key locations through a custom built global virtual WLAN network.
• Simplified Internet and data connectivity for corporate customers achieved through Sprint’s new Extended Workplace™ solution.

US-based telecommunications giant, Sprint (NYSE: FON), has chosen Quiconnect to offer Wireless LAN (WLAN) access at locations around the world as it delivers on its remote access strategy and broadens its international WLAN footprint for corporate customers.

Quiconnect, an international virtual network enabler headquartered in London, will extend Sprint’s network reach for international business travellers – over 6,000 venues initially and growing substantially thereafter – including over 30 airports worldwide by the end of 2005.

Serving 96% of the Fortune 500 companies, Sprint has been developing its Wi-Fi presence extensively in the USA over the past several years providing connectivity for its customers at marquee venues - high value, high traffic locations such as hotels, convention centres and airports across the country - where customers desire it most and can derive the greatest benefit.

Mark Brigman, Sprint’s WLAN business development manager, explains, “The majority of our business users are travelling with Wi-Fi technology. Our enterprise customers have therefore shown great interest in us providing their staff with international remote access to applications and the Internet in a user friendly and easy to manage solution.”

Quiconnect will work closely with associated network operators to create a virtual network for Sprint customers globally, managing all user authentication and billing, and enabling a consistent Sprint-branded customer experience irrespective of the actual local service provider or network operator used. Customers will receive only one bill from Sprint, no matter how many network operators are used or countries visited.

To simplify the connection process, Sprint recently announced Extended Workplace , a software client for laptops that identifies and displays a menu of connectivity choices and gives users the option to point, click and get connected regardless of the access type . Extended Workplace ensures that customers benefit from a secure, simple and consistent Sprint-branded user experience wherever they are around the world.

In the first phase of the rollout, Quiconnect will provide immediate Wi-Fi access for Sprint customers across airports in Germany, Netherlands, France, Greece, South Africa, and Japan, through agreements with the local network operators.

Brigman says, “To increase our global Wi-Fi footprint quickly and successfully, we needed to select partners who have a similar focus on quality Wi-Fi locations which are important to our customers, such as airports. This is where Quiconnect came in.” Brigman continued, “Quiconnect won the Sprint contract because they were the only company we spoke to who truly recognised and were willing to support our brand as a neutral third party. We want the Sprint brand promoted and supported with the level of quality our customers expect when they see the Sprint logo. This is inherent in the Quiconnect approach.”

Jeff Mabe, Quiconnect’s vice president, US sales, says, “Wi-Fi is still a relatively new technology and many companies are considering the best way to manage and implement it. As a specialist in wireless Internet Protocol technologies, we are delighted to be supporting Sprint to offer broader wireless services as they seek to add further value for their customers.”

About Quiconnect

Quiconnect is a specialist provider of systems integration and interconnectivity management solutions for telecommunications carriers in the wireless broadband sector.  Through its carrier-grade interconnection management platform, Quiconnect connects discrete commercial IP networks worldwide to create multiple custom-tailored virtual networks, uniquely configured and branded for individual carriers.  It provides unique technologies to simplify and securely automate user connections to these virtual networks, provides monitoring and support tools, manages accounting records, and provides financial settlement services in partnership with established clearing houses.

Quiconnect provides custom tools, technology and services to manage interconnections for multiple bilateral roaming and access agreements – ensuring end-to-end integrity, reducing costs, and enabling a consistent carrier-branded user interface across multiple networks, platforms and applications.

Headquartered in London UK, Quiconnect was founded in 2001 and operates offices in Grenoble, France and San Diego USA.  For more information, visit www.quiconnect.com.