Network Utilities launches Authentication Solution for UK Wireless Internet Users at Hotspots

Simplifies User Access, Creates Hotspot Revenue with No Overhead

Network Utilities today announced the UK launch of Steel-Belted
Radius/Hotspot Edition (HSE), a specialized version of their market-leading
RADIUS/AAA server that lets hotspot providers such as Internet cafes, coffee
shops, hotels and airports, easily and profitably offer wireless Internet
access to customers, while eliminating the overhead associated with customer
provisioning and billing.

This product allows hotspot providers to tap into the larger user
authentication provisioning and billing infrastructure already in place on
the Internet. It enables them to offer customers Internet access via their
own existing Internet accounts, and eliminates the need for customers to
subscribe to and pay for Internet access at every hotspot they visit.

This no-hassle access allows hotspot providers to add value and
differentiate themselves from their competitors, and, as a result, build
business," said Michele Lewington, managing director of Network Utilities.

Steel-Belted Radius/HSE is a key addition to the market," said Barry
Bomzer, vice president of marketing at Nomadix, Inc, one of the leading
developers of mobility technology. Along with our Hot Spot Gateway 25, it
removes the barriers of entry for hotspot providers, making it easy for them
to become part of the fabric of the Internet and move away from the
administrative hassles associated with being a standalone shop. Ultimately,
this benefits users, as they will be able to access the Internet from
anywhere."

To gain these benefits, existing hotspot operations need only add
Steel-Belted Radius/HSE to their infrastructure, and to put in place a
settlement relationship with a popular Internet access provider or
consortium. Start-up operations will need to install wire points and an
Internet connection, in addition.

When a hotspot customer connects - using the user name and password
associated with his or her existing Internet account - to a wireless access
point, that access point forwards the request to Steel-Belted Radius/HSE.
The latter then proxies the request to a central RADIUS server located at
the offices of the users wireless service provider, where the hotspot
provider has a settlement relationship. The central server then performs the
authentication that permits the connection to be established.

Advantages for hotspot providers include:

• Broad appeal to end users because of ease of use and one-step payment
• Easy revenue collection with the hotspot operators share of the wireless
access fees being sent in bulk from the wireless service provider, thus
relieving the hotspot of the responsibility for collecting usage fees
directly from customers.
• Easily handles both browser- and 802.lx-based access, ensuring
compatibility with todays environment, and (for customers who prefer to
connect via 802.lx.) it supports the strong 802.lx security method EAP-TTLS.
• Complete time-based accounting of each customers usage, ensuring that
hotspots are fully compensated for the time each user spends on the network.
• The option for hotspot operators to establish and administer their own
user database which can be useful for airports, hotels or other venues that
wish to offer wireless Internet connectivity to employees or other static
sets of users.
• One-time setup with virtually no administration.
• The time-tested reliability and high-performance of the market-leading
Steel-Belted RADIUS/AAA server.

Network Utilities is the exclusive UK supplier of this product, which was
developed by Funk Software of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Network Utilities
has supported the Funk range of software in the UK for the past ten years.

Steel-Belted Radius/HSE is based on Funk Softwares market-leading
RADIUS/AAA server Steel-Belted Radius. It provides powerful and flexible
proxy RADIUS capabilities, which allows it to distribute authentication
requests to another RADIUS server, which is capable of performing the
authentication. It also supports a local authentication database which the
hotspot provider may use to store employees or other users authentication
information. It also supports RADIUS accounting, which statistics serve as
the basis for usage-based billing.

About Network Utilities
Network Utilities is a privately owned company, which was formed in 1989 as
a Software House to primarily focus on the development of network
communications tools. This subsequently provided a sound basis for strategic
alliances with developers of similar products requiring a UK presence and
resulted in Network Utilities forging partnership arrangements with several
international software manufacturers. Since 1992 Network Utilities has been
committed to providing and supporting a 'best of breed range of products
for the management and security of the enterprise network. Its extended
portfolio now also addresses Internet security and solutions for the service
provider. Network Utilities (Systems) Ltd is headquartered at Liberty House,
158a Ewell Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 6HE, UK, Tel: +44 (0)20 8390 9911. For
more information about the company, please visit the Network Utilities web
site at http://www.netutils.com.

About Funk Software
Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Funk Software is the leading commercial
developer of RADIUS/AAA and wireless LAN security solutions. Its
market-leading Steel-Belted Radius family of commercial AAA solutions for
wireless operator, service provider, and enterprise networks is in use on
thousands of public and private networks worldwide, delivering a highly
scalable AAA solution that meets the needs of the largest customers. The
company also offers an end-to-end 802.1X WLAN security solution, Odyssey
that can be easily and widely deployed on enterprise networks. The
Steel-Belted Radius family of RADIUS/AAA solutions includes Steel-Belted
Radius/Service Provider Edition, Steel-Belted Radius Concurrency Server,
Steel-Belted Radius Port Allocation System, Steel-Belted Radius Mobile IP
module and Steel-Belted Radius/Enterprise Edition. For more information,
visit www.funk.com

About Nomadix
Nomadix develops mobility technology, which enhances security while enabling
mobility in wireless and wired data networks by delivering universal mobile
connectivity, advances security, and policy-based traffic shaping to the
mobile worker. In Nomadix-enabled networks, users receive secure, high-speed
data services at their offices, on the road, in their homes - virtually
anywhere they go. For additional information, please visit
http://www.nomadix.com.

Ends.

For further information please contact: Paul Calderwood
Kingswood Public Relations Tel: 020 8763 2241
Email:kingswoodmktg@btinternet.com