HP Helps Cities Reap Benefits of Wireless Broadband

HP and alliance partners bring metro-scale Wi-Fi to Franklin, Tenn., and St. Cloud, Fla.

PALO ALTO, CA, Aug. 31, 2005

HP today announced that the cities of Franklin, Tenn., and St. Cloud, Fla., have selected HP technology as the basis for their municipal wireless broadband systems.

The HP Metro-scale Wi-Fi solution will enable the cities to take advantage of the simplest, fastest, most cost-effective way to increase broadband availability for their citizens while also creating and improving public services.

The solution leverages HP’s global portfolio of wireless services and products to enable large communities to meet rapidly changing demands and provide their citizens and stakeholders with greater flexibility and adaptability.

Elements of the portfolio used in these rollouts include a wide range of HP mobile access devices, including the HP iPAQ Pocket PC; industry-standard HP ProLiant servers; consulting and integration services; financial and support services; and the HP OpenView management software platform.

In Franklin, the solution will include broadband capabilities for the city’s first response unit, including police and fire departments. In St. Cloud, HP is expanding an initial Wi-Fi “hot spot” to provide wireless broadband across the city.

As part of the HP Metro-scale Wi-Fi solution, HP forged an alliance with Tropos Networks and Aptilo Networks to help large communities of all kinds - cities, government agencies, large medical center and universities - achieve significant new wireless capabilities, including enhanced collaboration and simplified secure access control through a standard high-speed Wi-Fi network. The Franklin and St. Cloud networks use products from Tropos and Aptilo as part of their overall network solutions.

“We are seeing a global explosion in the demand for large-scale Wi-Fi implementations,” said Enrique Barkey, worldwide director, Civilian Agency Solutions, HP. “There is a powerful recognition that large-scale Wi-Fi capability enables the sort of pervasive access that spurs collaboration, innovation and productivity. HP’s 25-year track record in building both wired and wireless network infrastructures enables us to deliver a comprehensive solution that is dynamic, flexible and adaptable.”

HP’s broad portfolio meets growing demand for metro-scale Wi-Fi

Franklin, Tenn., has deployed a wireless broadband solution throughout the city, including its historic district, to provide wireless, mobile capabilities for its first responders. The second phase of the project will roll out additional wireless broadband capabilities to the 35-square-mile city.

“Wireless broadband will mean a faster, more comprehensive first response unit and wireless access for departments across the city,” said Fred Banner, director, Municipal Information Technology, City of Franklin. “We chose HP because they offer a flexible approach and cost-effective solution that combines world-class technology, services and partners.”

St. Cloud, Fla., initially selected HP to deploy a Wi-Fi umbrella as part of their city-wide broadband access program. In 2004, HP and a partner helped the city to develop the “Cyber Spot,” a wireless LAN hot spot, and expanded wireless broadband capabilities across the 590-acre Stevens Plantation community. The second phase, which is in progress, includes expanding and providing ongoing support for its current wireless capabilities across the entire city.

“Ubiquitous high-speed wireless will bring lifestyle, educational and economic advantages to St. Cloud,” said Glenn Sangiovanni, Mayor of St. Cloud. “With HP’s help, St. Cloud is set to become one of a handful of cities with a city-wide municipal wireless network offered free to our citizens as a public service, which will enrich our education system, grow local commerce and better equip our local law enforcement and emergency response teams.”

According to The Wireless Internet Institute (W2i), hundreds of U.S. cities are setting up metro-scale wireless networks and more than 1,000 local governments worldwide have plans in the works. In addition to the many small and mid-size U.S. cities that have implemented metro-scale Wi-Fi or are presently working to do so, recent news reports have spotlighted the plans being launched by large cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston and Minneapolis to add metro-scale Wi-Fi to their municipal infrastructures.

More information on the HP large-scale wireless solutions is available at http://government.hp.com/solutions_detail1.asp?agencyid=0&solutionid=31.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $85.2 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including the expected development, performance or rankings of products or services; statements of expectation or belief; and any statement of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the development, performance and market acceptance of products and services and other risks that are described from time to time in HP’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2005, and other reports filed after HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2004. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

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