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Cisco Teams with MobilePro to Deliver Outdoor Wireless Mesh Services to Farmers Branch


WEBWIRE

June 1, 2006

Cisco and MobilePro Ally in Bringing Mesh Solutions to Municipalities

SAN JOSE, Calif., - Cisco Systems®, announced today that the city of Farmers Branch, Texas, a first-ring suburb northwest of Dallas, selected the outdoor wireless “mesh” offering from Cisco and MobilePro Corp. MobilePro will act as the wireless Internet service provider for Farmers Branch and manage the city’s mesh network, allowing the city to offer Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) 802.11 b/g connectivity to consumer, academic, commercial and government users.

In addition to providing access to its citizens, the city plans to use the outdoor Wi-Fi mesh network for public safety and public works applications, such as meter reading, police communications, and tracking city vehicles.

“Farmers Branch is a community that has always been proud of its heritage, but equally progressive in keeping up with the ever-changing nature of technology and innovation,” said Farmers Branch Mayor Bob Phelps. “With the installation of this City-wide wireless network, Farmers Branch continues to stay ahead of the technological curve in making sure our residents and businesses have the best opportunity to exist and compete in the 21st century global community.”

The first phase of the deployment, scheduled to go live this summer, will be a “free zone” area where anyone can access the Internet. MobilePro will offer businesses and residents around the city mesh Wi-Fi access for a monthly subscription fee as the network expands. Eventually, the city’s mesh network will be comprised of approximately 300 access points that covers 12 square miles.

To simplify management and centralize network control, MobilePro is using Cisco 4400 Series Wireless LAN Controllers and the Cisco Wireless Control System to manage Cisco Aironet 1500 Series Access Points, which are attached to street lights and utility poles.

“As one of the nation’s leading wireless Internet service providers, MobilePro is excited to be teaming with Cisco in bringing Cisco’s state-of-the-art mesh solutions to municipalities,” said Jay Wright, chief executive officer of MobilePro. “As evidenced by the numerous major city mesh deals across the U.S., our mesh expertise coupled with Cisco’s technology prowess makes for a win-win deal for any size city.”

Regional Cisco reseller Global Data Systems is coordinating efforts with MobilePro in the city-wide mesh network deployment. Global Data Systems provides technical support, radio frequency (RF) engineering, and plays an integral role in the RF deployment to help ensure optimal network performance for the Cisco platform.

“Smaller municipalities, as much as large cities, are leaders in adopting wireless mesh technologies,” said Alan S. Cohen, senior director of product management for Cisco Systems’ Wireless Networking Business Unit. “Farmers Branch is a leader in understanding and taking advantage of the multiple services and benefits derived from ubiquitous outdoor Wi-Fi networks. These services range from basic Internet access to advanced mobility services, such as voice over Wi-Fi, location, guest networking and security.”
About Farmers Branch

The oldest community in Dallas County, the City of Farmers Branch can be found on the northwest border of the City of Dallas. The City’s 400 full time employees are committed to excellence and to “exceeding expectations” in the delivery of top quality services to the City’s 27,000 residents and 85,000 business people, who work in more than 2,500 companies located in the City, including 24 Fortune 500 firms. For more information on the City of Farmers Branch, visit www.farmersbranch.info or call 972-919-2510.
About MobilePro Corp.

MobilePro Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: MOBL) is one of North America’s leading wireless broadband companies, serving over 20,000 wireless broadband customers through its subsidiaries NeoReach Wireless and Kite Broadband. The company, based in Bethesda, Md., is focused on creating shareholder value by acquiring and growing profitable telecommunications companies, developing innovative wireless technologies and forging strategic alliances with well-positioned companies in complementary product lines and industries. MobilePro serves over 220,000 customer lines throughout the United States, primarily through its CloseCall America, American Fiber Network, Kite Broadband and Nationwide Internet subsidiaries.
About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Information on Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

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