Freedom2Surf launches low-cost Wi-Fi access for business executives on the move

Freedom2Surf Hotspot service to provide affordable access to 1,300 hotspots nationwide at up to 50% the price of BT

31 January 2005, London - Freedom2Surf, (www.freedom2surf.net) one of the UK’s leading independent ISPs, has today announced the launch of Freedom2Surf Hotspots a new low-cost Wi-Fi network for business travellers. The ISP will be partnering with BT Openzone to offer customers access to a network of 1,300 hotspots in the UK. Customers using the service will be able to connect at rates up to 50 per cent lower than those offered by BT.

Freedom2Surf Hotspots customers will be able to simply buy connection time on a Pay as You Go basis by purchasing vouchers with a credit card. Bundled minutes will be available on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, purchased through the Freedom2Surf website. For example, a customer checking into a London hotel will be able to buy a week’s worth of bundled minutes rather than purchase them more expensively on an ad hoc basis. Customers accessing one of the 1,300 hotpots through a wireless enabled laptop simply need to select Freedom2Surf from the drop-down menu and enter their voucher code to take advantage of the lower rates.

Freedom2Surf will be aggressively targeting the growing market for Wi-Fi access from business travellers and firms with large mobile workforces. As well as attracting new users, Freedom2Surf will also be offering the Freedom2Surf Hotspots service to its large base of existing business broadband customers. This will give firms and individuals the option of cost-effectively consolidating their fixed and wireless broadband access through a single service provider.

Chris Panayis, Managing Director of Freedom2Surf plc commented, “Arguably the biggest barrier to greater Wi-Fi use in the UK is the perceived high-cost of access. As with broadband, we have shown that by lowering prices take-up can really sky rocket. The launch of the Freedom2Surf Hotspot service introduces some much needed competition and innovation into the wi-fi market. Business users can now at last affordably access the Internet on the move – more often and for longer and at up to half the price – through over 1,300 Freedom2Surf enabled hotspots nationwide.”

Freedom2Surf Hotspot Pricing:

	Minutes	Cost
Occasional Use	per minute	10p
Daily Use	60	£4.50
Weekly Use	5 hours	£15
Monthly Use	20 hours	£30

About Freedom2surf plc.

Freedom2Surf (www.freedom2surf.net) is one of the UK’s leading independent Internet service providers. The company serves a targeted customer base of Internet professionals, at home or in business that appreciate the value of advanced technology, speed and above all reliability in their ISP. Freedom2Surf believes that Internet privacy and security should be an integral part of the online experience. Freedom2Surf provides leading support for all the major Internet components, from ADSL broadband high-speed connectivity, to offering the latest services from web publishing, email and interactive entertainment to high volume electronic commerce business architectures. Freedom2Surf was launched in 1997 and is headquartered in St Albans, UK.

Contact:

• Elizabeth West
• Berkeley Public Relations
• elizabethw@berkeleyprnorth.co.uk
• T: 01629 826942
• F: 01629 826943