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GRIC Forming Global Broadband Wireless Alliance of Service Providers
URL(s): www.gric.com
MILPITAS, Calif., April 26, 2001--GRIC Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:GRIC), a leading provider of
mobile office Internet communications services, announced it is broadening the scope of its 300+ member network -- the GRIC
Alliance -- to include broadband services, beginning with wireless, and is inviting both broadband wireless service providers and its
own members to work together to make global wireless access a reality for business travelers worldwide.
"The addition of wireless services to the GRIC Alliance is a major component in GRIC's strategy to provide all the critical services
needed to empower the mobile office," said Hong Chen, GRIC CEO. "Initially that means providing business travelers with the ability
to access their corporate networks and the Internet from anywhere in the world using virtually any device, wired, or wireless.
Ultimately, it means providing them with access to a wide variety of communications services."
"By forming a 'wireless' alliance, GRIC will provide global business travelers the ability to access the Internet from wireless LAN
'hotspots' in airports, hotels, convention centers," he added. "But eventually we expect wireless access to be almost as readily available
to travelers as dial-up access is today."
He noted that over the short term, wireless LANs are expected to be one of the fastest-growing components of the broadband
wireless market. IDC has just released a study that the installed base of LAN equipment is expected to grow at a compound annual
rate of 60 percent to 28,561 units between 1999 and 2004.
As it now does for dial-up service providers, the GRIC Alliance will enable regional and local broadband wireless networks to link
with other networks around the world. Business travelers will have the benefit of instant, secure, wireless access to the Internet and
corporate networks at any wireless "hotspot" that is owned by another network member. GRIC will perform the authentication,
authorization, and clearing functions.
"There has already been considerable interest in wireless services, especially from members and service providers in Asia, where
wireless technology and usage is ahead of most of the rest of the world, and where GRIC and Nokia last year held two wireless
summits for Asian service providers," Hong said. "In Europe the use of wireless devices is common, with mobile phone and PDA
penetration among the highest in the world. We expect wireless LANs to be extremely well received as service providers across
Europe look for new services to offer the mobile professional."
GRIC also announced it is forming a wireless advisory board to help the company focus on emerging wireless issues, especially
those connected to roaming. Membership is open to any wireless service provider and any current Alliance member with an interest in
wireless as well as wireless equipment manufacturers.
"GRIC has for years pulled together disparate dial-up networks owned by ISPs and telephone companies and other types of
providers, enabling them to work together and share network resources so that their customers could easily connect to the Internet
virtually anywhere in the world. That strategy has been so successful that the GRIC Alliance is today the world's largest such network,
encompassing more than 300 top tier service providers and more than 12,000 dialing locations," said Chen. "If the wireless market is
ever to become a viable option for business travelers, it is necessary for someone to step up and provide, and actively manage, the
global network. GRIC is one of the few organizations that has the experience, resources and know-how to make global wireless
connectivity a reality."
GRIC Communications, Inc. is a worldwide leader in delivering remote Internet access and corporate secure remote access to
ISPs, communications providers, and enterprise customers. Combining state-of-the-art technology with its managed global GRIC
Alliance Network(TM) of more than 300 service providers, GRIC delivers its services in 150 countries and enables Internet access
through more than 12,000 dialing locations. Winner of Frost & Sullivan's 2000 Market Engineering Award for Customer Service
Leadership in the global Internet roaming market, GRIC is headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., and has offices in the U.S., Asia and
Europe. Visit GRIC at www.gric.com.
This news release may include "forward-looking" statements, including projections about our business, within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements in the future
tense are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us at the time of the
release and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. The statements in this release are not guarantees
of future performance and actual results could differ from our current expectations as a result of numerous factors, including: the
unproven nature of the broadband Internet roaming market and uncertainties regarding customer acceptance of future broadband
Internet access services that we may offer; the speed with which we are able to build a global broadband alliance; our ability to obtain
broadband Internet access from service providers at competitive prices; the emergence of competing access technologies; the extent
to which our revenues derived from dialup Internet access may be displaced by revenues derived from broadband Internet access; and
our inexperience in providing broadband Internet access services, which makes it difficult to predict our performance. In addition,
please refer to risk factors listed from time to time in our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q on file with the SEC and
available through www.sec.gov.
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