Long Island Moves Ahead on Wireless Broadband Initiative

The counties of Suffolk and Nassau located on Long Island, today announced that they have selected e-Path Communications, Inc., and its team of KeySpan Communications and Cisco, to build, own and operate a wireless broadband communications network to provide residents, businesses, municipal governments and visitors ubiquitous service throughout Long Island.

The team of e-Path Communications, Inc., KeySpan Communications, and Cisco brings to Long Islanders a 'landline free' way to access the Internet throughout its anticipated 750 square mile network. Learning from the experiences and challenges faced by other cities, the e-Path team proposed a business model and a technology solution that redefines the paradigm ensuring immediate, on-going, and sustainable benefits to itself and its shareholders and the residents, visitors, businesses, and municipal workers of Long Island.

Taking a true partnership approach with the counties, sat the companies, this initiative will provide a truly unique and competitive alternative to other high-speed Internet offerings to those who live, work, and visit Long Island. The e-Path team will deliver its wireless broadband Internet access services to both the public and private sectors, as well as a host of voice and data bundled and/or managed services including Internet phone and IP cellular. The e-Path team will also work with the counties to identify and deploy municipal applications (e.g. healthcare, automated meter reading, environmental quality monitoring, permitting and code enforcement.) to drive measurable returns on investment, which will make it easier to attract support for public access and digital inclusion initiatives.

"Broadband wireless connectivity will provide a plethora of economic, social and community benefits to Long Island," stated Joe Tortoretti, president & CEO of e-Path Communications, Inc. "Increased public safety and community communications, digital inclusion programs for underserved and disadvantaged citizens and businesses, educational programs and improved government services and reduced communications expenses all are very tangible benefits of having ubiquitous broadband connectivity."

"In 2006, we founded e-Path to be a very different wireless broadband company, with a mission to give mobility to our customers with anytime, anywhere access to a fully managed integrated, bundled, application rich, broadband Internet access product that includes, IP Mobile, and Voice over IP telecom communications packages at prices they could afford and that we could deliver profitably," Tortoretti went on to say. "With the counties and our teammate, KeySpan, evaluating wireless applications for their business needs, we believe our visionary business model puts us in a leading position in the repositioning of wireless broadband networks."

"Having a technologically advanced community will make Long Island more appealing to business and tourism, fostering aggressive and sustainable economic development in the geographic territory of our primary operations," stated Bob Catell, chairman and CEO of KeySpan Corporation. "KeySpan is excited to participate and we are looking forward to supporting the wireless network deployment with backhaul capacity on KeySpan's high speed fiber optic networks, providing engineering, operational and network management support, and exploring opportunities to implement wireless links for utility applications."

Steve Levy, Suffolk County executive, and Tom Suozzi, Nassau County executive led by the 15 member Long Island Wireless Committee, co-chaired by Sharon Cates-Williams, CIO and commissioner of the Department of Information Technology, and Suffolk legislator Wayne Horsley, chair of the Legislature's Economic Development Committee, unanimously supported awarding the project to e-Path and its partners. "The wireless broadband network will provide an important economic development tool to attract and retain businesses in the Counties of Suffolk and Nassau Long Island, as well as improve services to residents and enhance public communication while reducing the cost of government," stated Steve Levy, county executive Suffolk County. "A seamless wireless infrastructure would attract and retain young professionals to live and work in the Counties, and provide an aid to tourism and hospitality."

According to a statement, this initiative will promote the following:

-- Ensure universal affordable outdoor wireless broadband access for all