MetroFi Reaches Over 11,000 Monthly Users of Portland Wi-Fi Network

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- MetroFi -- the leading provider of free wireless Internet access and municipal services over Wi-Fi networks -- today announced that its citywide Wi-Fi network in Portland, Oregon had 11,200 users in May 2007. A 40% increase in the number of users since the month previous, May's utilization also represents an estimated 11.5% of the population within the current coverage area, as well as 56% of the 19,900 individuals who have registered for the network since its December 2006 inception.

"We are pleased to see this many people utilizing our Portland Wi-Fi network so early in the deployment," says MetroFi CEO and President, Chuck Haas. "As the size and density of the network continues to grow, we are confident its population and usage will increase as well, as more residents, businesses, visitors and city departments use the network to their advantage."

Through a partnership with the City of Portland, MetroFi designed, built and operates the outdoor Wi-Fi network free of charge. Via its high performance network, MetroFi delivers free wireless Internet access sponsored by local and regional advertisers, with locally-relevant MSN(R) content and services provided through an alliance with Microsoft. Approximately 500,000 Portland residents and visitors will be able to benefit from MetroFi's Wi-Fi network once it is fully deployed -- whether surfing the Web, sending email, transferring files, or making a business or city department more efficient and effective.

The network's reach will continue to expand throughout 2007 and into 2008. In May, MetroFi turned on nearly 70 new outdoor access points. Portland neighborhoods that currently have areas of coverage include: Buckman, Cathedral Park, Center, Chinatown, downtown/Pioneer Courthouse Square, Homestead, Hosford-Abernathy, Kerns, Laurelhurst, Lloyd, Mt. Tabor, Multnomah, Old Town, Pearl, Richmond, St. Johns, and Sunnyside. Preliminary deployment (with minimal coverage) has also begun in: AshCreek, Bridlemile, Brooklyn, Creston-Kenilworth, Corbett/Terwilliger/Lair Hill, Goose Hollow, Hillsdale, Montavilla, Northwest, Reed, Southwest Hills, Sullivan's Gulch, University Park and Woodstock. Now 20% complete, the network's expansion has been rapidly underway since MetroFi received a Certificate of Acceptance from the City of Portland on April 11 after a two-square mile, four-month pilot downtown.

The Portland network's usage tripled in the first three months, culminating with 5,800 users spending over 50,000 hours online in March. In April, those numbers increased to nearly 8,000 individuals online for over 80,000 hours. May's users spent over 131,000 hours online, averaging 94 minutes per session.

"By issuing the Certificate of Acceptance, the City of Portland recognized that MetroFi's network is adding significant value to our community. The utilization numbers tell us that value is on the rise," says Logan Kleier, a City of Portland Bureau of Technology Services project manager for the UnWire Portland initiative. "We are hopeful the trend will continue, and are exploring ways to leverage the network for departmental cost savings, greater efficiency among our mobile workforce, and/or enhanced public safety."

  MetroFi invites Portlanders to visit MetroFiPortland.com for:

  *  An address checker and maps that help identify and qualify current
     coverage status
  *  Network logon directions
  *  Details about a limited-term, discount offer from retailer ExpressNets
     for an indoor signal-boosting wireless modem, Ruckus MetroFlex
  *  Additional relevant information -- such as technical FAQs, service
     notifications and customer experiences.

MetroFi also invites Portland network users to share their own experiences through one of two email channels:

  *  supportfree@metrofi.com -- for service questions and support
  *  success@metrofi.com -- to share best use stories.

"This is an exciting time for our Portland network," says MetroFi Vice President of Marketing, Adrian van Haaften. "We're growing and hitting milestones faster than anticipated, and are looking forward to what the months ahead will bring: more users, more advertisers, and more applications of municipal Wi-Fi."

About MetroFi:

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, MetroFi is the leader in designing, building and operating high-performance, low-cost, municipal Wi-Fi networks. Now in its fifth year, MetroFi has secured municipal Wi-Fi agreements with nearly a dozen, forward-looking cities across the U.S., including several in California (Concord, Cupertino, Foster City, Riverside, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale), Illinois (Aurora, Naperville) and Oregon (Portland). Through these citywide networks, MetroFi delivers high-speed, Wi-Fi broadband services, including free mobile Internet access for over a million people (once current networks are fully deployed), as well as fee-based public safety applications, traffic monitoring, utility reading, fixed wireless and more. For more information, please visit http://www.metrofi.com/.