WARWICK, R.I., Feb. 11, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- ICOA, Inc., (OTCBB:ICOA), today announced the completion of the acquisition of Seventh Wave LLC. of Chicago (www.netonthego.com/seventhwave). Seventh Wave currently operates multiple Internet Terminals at the McCormick Place Convention Center, and has multiple contracts with other Chicago area locations, including hotels and hostels.
"This acquisition extends ICOA's base of WiFi and Internet Terminal business in the Chicago area and the mid-West," noted George Strouthopoulos, CEO of ICOA. "It represents an expanded regional focus for ICOA's Public Broadband Internet Access business," he continued. "The addition of McCormick Convention Center and the site specific promotion capabilities that Seventh Wave brings, will allow us to grow revenue even faster."
As part of the acquisition, ICOA will now own the trademarked portal site Net-on-the-Go (www.netonthego.com) that offers a wide range of information content, ranging from Business News and Financial Data to Weather, Travel and Entertainment Listings. ICOA will now have the capability to custom configure and pre-load site specific software and advertising content on its Internet Terminals and WiFi Hot Spot "splash" pages to provide both free and "pay per use" services including Internet Access, email, business services and venue specific promotions. After installation, ICOA will monitor performance remotely, keep track of the customers reached and send detailed reports of user transactions to advertisers and local event promoters using the Net-on-the-Go software.
According to Jupiter Research (www.jupiterresearch.com) by 2006, the number of consumers who transact via similar Internet-enabled kiosks or terminals will rise to 23 million, and these transactions are predicted to drive over $3 billion in sales.
About ICOA
ICOA, Inc., (www.icoacorp.com) located in Warwick, RI, is a provider of Public Broadband Internet Access. The company operates private networks of high-speed Internet Terminals (WebCenter3000TM), and WiFi Hot Spots, in 204 locations nationwide. ICOA operates in the most sought after public locations -- airports, hotels, marinas, transportation and conference centers. The Company provides fully managed broadband Internet access allowing services including: e-mail, e-fax and telephony; business services including printing; e-commerce; and 'venue specific' advertising. ICOA currently operates or manages installations at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana Airport (BTR), Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Rhode Island's Newport Harbor 'Hot Zone', several prestigious Hotels and 130+ Panera Bread (Nasdaq:PNRA) (www.panerabread.com) locations.
'Safe Harbor'
The foregoing contains "forward-looking statements" which are based on management's beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events and information currently available to management. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside ICOA's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. For a more detailed description of the factors that could cause such a difference, please see ICOA's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ICOA disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This information is presented solely to provide additional information to further understand the results of ICOA.