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June 22, 1999 10:15

ATCOM/INFO to Display High-Speed Plug-And-Play Internet Access
Software with Microsoft at HITEC

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 22, 1999-- 

IPORT Software Proven in Over 8,500 Hotel Rooms 

ATCOM/INFO will be demonstrating its industry-leading IPORT(TM) Internet access software at the
Microsoft Corp. booth at the HITEC 99 show in Atlanta from June 22 to June 24. IPORT enables hotels to
provide their guests with high-speed plug-and-play Internet access easily and cost-effectively. The IPORT
software is designed to minimize the load on hotel staff - it manages service provision (setting up the
Internet connection for the guest) and billing automatically, and features industry-leading plug-and-play
capabilities developed with Microsoft, so guests are and running without any intervention from the hotel. 

By simply plugging their Ethernet cards into their room's IPORT jack, hotel guests get an Internet
connection at speeds 50 times faster than a typical modem - without reconfiguring their machines or
loading any additional software. With IPORT's web-based billing system, online charges are automatically
posted to the guest's room bill or credit card. Unlike many competing systems, the link to the corporate
network is secure (IPORT complies with the industry standard IPSEC (IP security) protocol) to give users
and their MIS managers confidence in connecting back to the office safely. 

In addition to reduced management costs, ATCOM/INFO's solution gives hotels the opportunity to build
their brands and sell additional services to their guests because users must reach the Internet through a
portal site designed to the hotel's specifications. The portal, which can be tailored to the visitor, could
contain local information, hotel services or links to additional premium services that will generate revenue
for the hotel. 

"For example," explained Tom Caldwell, ATCOM/INFO's VP of engineering, "I could sign up for Internet
access from my hotel room in San Diego and the portal would greet me with `Welcome, Tom Caldwell in
San Diego' and include my frequent guest points and features relevant to my profile. The portal gives
hotels a tremendous opportunity to extend their loyalty schemes, develop customer databases, and build
strong one-to-one relationships with their customers." In addition, building this sort of portal is
straightforward because the IPORT server at the hotel (which handles user authentication and Internet
service provisioning) integrates tightly with Microsoft Site Server, so any portal web site built on Site
Server can be given easy access to relevant user data. 

The IPORT software runs on the Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 platform. BackOffice includes Microsoft
SQL Server 7.0to manage IPORT's billing, configuration and reporting functions, and Microsoft Internet
Information Services with Active Server Pages (ASP) technology to enable IPORT's web-based Internet
service provisioning. BackOffice Server 4.5 has unattended install features that greatly reduce the time
and cost of setting up and rolling out IPORT Internet access. 

"BackOffice Server provides hotel IT professionals with an easy way to deploy and manage a server
solution for remote hotel properties," said Kevin Breunig, group product manager for BackOffice Server at
Microsoft. "It gives ATCOM/INFO the benefits of an integrated platform that includes Windows NT Server,
Internet Information Services and SQL Server." 

About ATCOM/INFO 

Based in San Diego, ATCOM/INFO is the leading provider of services and software for public high-speed
Internet access. ATCOM/INFO Internet systems are targeted for use in public facilities and the hospitality
market segment throughout the United States and the world, including airports, hotels, convention centers
and other public areas. ATCOM/INFO's mission is to provide superior software products and services for
information delivery to users in public places. This includes pay-per-use public Internet ports (IPORT
Internet Access System), kiosk management software and custom software solutions designed to meet
specific customer needs. For more information on ATCOM/INFO, please call 619-699-4048, fax at
619-699-4040, or visit their Web site at http://www.atcominfo.com. 

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. 

     CONTACT: ATCOM/INFO
              Maja Porter
              619-699-4048
              [email protected]
              or
              Connors Communications   
              Chris Evenden            
              212-807-7500             
              [email protected]     



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