Bluesocket Signs Partnerships with Airpath Wireless, GRIC Communications and iPass to Make Public Internet Access Simple, Secure

By 2006, More Than 113 million people will use remote access to perform their job

Burlington, MA – January 15, 2003 – Bluesocket, Inc., a fast-growing developer of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) solutions, today announced agreements with leading network aggregator/service providers Airpath Wireless, GRIC Communications, and iPASS. The purpose of the agreements is to ensure product interoperability for Bluesocket’s award-winning Wireless Gateways with services provided by the partner companies to provide easy, practical, and secure remote Internet access via Wi-Fi networks for mobile workers.

The agreements relate to sales and marketing efforts and product/service testing efforts supporting an open standards approach to Web access, which simplifies how individuals use wireless networks for e-mail, web surfing or to securely access corporate applications using 802.11-enabled laptops, PDAs and/or smart phones from public “hotspots.”

“Partnering with public access leaders like Airpath, GRIC, and iPass, Bluesocket is helping to advance the ubiquity of anywhere, anytime computing,” said Carol Schmitt, VP of business development, Bluesocket. “Together we will make it easy for mobile travelers to stay connected while on the road, without requiring new, client software be installed on the user’s device. And, through secure access, single-user interface, single-bill operation, we can make the Wi-Fi user experience as simple as Internet dial-up but with the speed and productivity of a broadband connection,” said Schmitt.

Bluesocket Wireless Gateways are used in 26 countries around the world to secure and manage corporate, institutional and public WiFi networks. Bluesocket installations include “layered” public/private access hotspots in airports and train stations; as well as hotels–from Georgia to West Virginia, Edinburgh to Stockholm. Internet access in the “World’s First Digital City” (Zamora, Spain) is also managed by Bluesocket Wireless Gateways.

Industry Analyst In-Stat/MDR estimates the number of public WLAN hotspots will grow from 12,200 locations in 2002 to 113,500 by 2006. Soon, millions of people will use remote access to perform their jobs, with 14.8 million connections a month in 2006.

“Mobile workers want secure and managed access over any network, anytime, anywhere, from whichever wireless device they choose. This is the challenge that the remote access market is currently striving to meet,” said Amy Cravens, Industry Analyst, In-Stat/MDR. “As 802.11 standards and technology continue to evolve, interoperability problems will increase. Bluesocket’s wireless gateways will address a significant issue in the hotspot market by making it easy for travelers to gain access from a wide range of mobile devices. Furthermore, Bluesocket gives service providers an effective solution for centralized administration, access control, and airlink privacy.”

Bluesocket integrates into mobile data services via existing infrastructures. Through policy-based management and meshed network administration, Bluesocket enables mix and match security, such as 802.1x and VPNs, password- and/or certificate-based authentication, multi-directional access control, Secure Mobilityâ„? for VLANs and subnets, and ongoing tracking activity across the network. Thus, Bluesocket ensures only authorized users can use the service, and the duration and nature of the session (e.g. bandwidth, downloads) are monitored for billing and Quality of Service purposes.

About The Partners:

Airpath Wireless
Airpath Wireless, Inc. (www.airpath.com) provides the creation, deployment and interconnection of Wi-Fi hotspot Internet Access worldwide through its service offerings: Airpath Internet, the Company’s owned and managed wireless Hot Spot footprint, Airpath Integration and Management, which assists in the build-out and management of customer owned networks, and Airpath Roaming, providing worldwide access and customer settlement network for Service and Network Providers wishing to enhance their network footprint and provide wireless internet access to their subscribers. Roaming partners of Airpath include Boingo Wireless, GRIC Communications and iPass. Airpath builds powerful back-office applications to deploy, operate and manage high-speed public Internet Access locations for clients including independent Wireless LAN operators (WISP’s), service providers, property management organizations, airport authorities and large Telco carriers.

GRIC Communications
California-based GRIC Communications, Inc. (www.gric.com) [NASDAQ: GRIC], a leading provider of mobile office communications solutions now boasts 1,072 broadband access locations, 636 wireless hotspot locations and 436 Ethernet-enabled hotels connected to the Wayport network, which provides high-speed access in more than 100,000 hotel rooms in the United States. GRIC provides broadband coverage in 44 airports (including San Jose International, Dallas Ft. Worth and Narita (Tokyo) and broadband wireless coverage at 25 airports through a partnership with Airpath Wireless. In all, GRIC now offers broadband service in 10 countries and dial-up service in more than 150.

iPass
When traveling beyond their own country, a business traveler is unlikely to be able to use their Internet ID and password to get Web access in countries they visit. iPass, Inc. provides software-enabled enterprise connectivity services designed to give employees secure access to information and applications on the corporate network from any location in the world. As a virtual network operator (VNO), iPass offers enterprise employees a range of Internet protocol-based connectivity technologies, including wired and wireless broadband service at airports, hotels and conference centers worldwide.

Bluesocket’s Wireless Gateways
Bluesocket’s Wireless Gateways, recognized as “Best Security Product of 2002” by the Networking Industry Awards are single component appliances to secure and manage wireless networks and provide authentication, subnet mobility, policy management, and bandwidth management of WiFi networks in educational, enterprises and government offices; and public hotspots. The Wireless Gateway provides strong encryption and creates a trust boundary between an enterprise’s access points (wireless base stations) and the secure, wired network.

About Bluesocket
Bluesocket, Inc. (www.bluesocket.com) manufactures solutions to manage and secure wireless local area networks (WLANs) in enterprises and public hotspots worldwide. Bluesocket provides organizations including the National Security Agency, ATOS KPMG Consulting, Harvard Medical School and Best Western Hotels with elegant systems to secure, manage and profit from their WLANs. With offices in the U.S., U.K., and Asia, Bluesocket, Inc. is a private , global corporation managed by executives from BT, Cisco, GTE, Ericsson, Intel, and Nortel.