ARESCOM Hospitality Network Forms Systems Integrator Partnership With Lee Communications

AHN teams with proven hospitality telecom solutions provider to deliver wired and wireless High Speed Internet Access FREE to business-class hotels across the nation

FREMONT AND PLEASANTON, CALIF. — AUG. 22, 2002 — ARESCOM Inc., a global provider of High Speed Internet Access (HSIA) equipment and related services for the Hospitality, Residential Property, Telecommunication and ISP markets, has established an alliance with Hospitality Systems Integrator Lee Communications Inc. to deliver to business hotels wired and wireless HSIA—free of installation and maintenance costs as well as common billing and technical support headaches.

Under terms of the two-year agreement, valued at $3 million per year, Pleasanton-based Lee Communications will serve as an ARESCOM Hospitality Network (AHN) Systems Integrator Partner— deploying ARESCOM’s wired and/or wireless HSIA solutions in up to 300 of its hospitality client properties by Summer 2004.

Fremont-based ARESCOM will provide its proven AHN broadband infrastructure equipment, while Lee Communications will provide complete installation and technical support for all AHN HSIA hardware and software solutions. AHN will handle all related HSIA billing and revenue sharing and will deliver 24/7/365 professional phone support to guests and properties.

“We are extremely pleased to forge a strategic Systems Integrator Partnership with a leading broadband equipment provider such as ARESCOM,” said Robert E. Lee Sr., Lee Communications’ Senior VP - Operations.

“Our expansive base of hospitality clients and contacts searching for a high-value HSIA proposition, coupled with our proven marketing and turnkey installation and support services, represent a perfect match for the ARESCOM Hospitality Network and its leading-edge, highly-reliable wired and wireless broadband access solutions,” Lee said. “This alliance will have significant immediate and long-term benefits to both of our companies, as well as hundreds of hotels and tens of thousands of business travelers.”

Dave Egan, ARESCOM Vice President – Marketing, said that Lee Communications has earned the attention of key decision makers at hundreds of business hotels in need of HSIA—including many that were left without service when their previous HSIA providers went bankrupt and/or exited hospitality.

“An estimated 25 million business travelers—up from approximately 1.5 million just four years ago—are demanding that hotel properties offer HSIA so they can stay connected to corporate networks at speeds they recently have become accustomed to in their workplaces and homes,” Egan said. “ARESCOM is addressing this requirement by enabling hotels to offer both wired and wireless solutions requiring no investment or risk by the properties. Now, with Lee Communications’ longstanding industry connections and proven installation and support excellence, we can provide a best-of-breed solution to hospitality.”

The ARESCOM Hospitality Network (AHN) is a simple turnkey platform providing complete wired and/or wireless HSIA solutions, as well as Video-on-Demand and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) anywhere on a property. Some AHN service highlights include: secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) support;
true plug-and-play capabilities for HSIA, Video-On-Demand and VoIP; and user-friendly, highly-secure
on-line Guest Billing with 24/7/365 Professional Technical Support.

About ARESCOM
Founded in the Silicon Valley, in 1996, ARESCOM designs, manufactures and markets a comprehensive line of broadband access solutions, ranging from the most sophisticated turnkey wired and wireless High Speed Internet Access solutions for the booming worldwide hospitality market, to state-of-the-art DSL and wireless solutions for homes and small businesses. Currently, ARESCOM’s DSL broadband access equipment is widely deployed by major telecommunication carriers, REITs, Hotels, ISPs and SOHOs throughout the U.S., Asia and Europe.

About Lee Communications
Based in Pleasanton, Calif., Lee Communications was established in 1986 and is state certified as a Women Owned, Small Business Enterprise. For the past decade, Lee Communications has achieved success in virtually every facet of the telecommunication business, offering exclusive turnkey solutions for voice and data communications equipment and services for the hospitality industry. As an industry leader in inter-building and intra-building cabling systems, Lee Communications provides clients with certified structured wiring systems. In support of the Hospitality Industry, Lee Communications is involved in the design, installation, implementation and support of wired and wireless hardware, network servers, routers, hubs and associated equipment for Corporate Centers, Hotel Complexes and Apartment Facilities.

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