Open Park Offers Inauguration Week Public Wi-Fi Service on Pennsylvania Ave. Parade Route and Capitol Hill

Open Park Offers Inauguration Week Public Wi-Fi Service on Pennsylvania Ave. Parade Route and Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Park Project, a local nonprofit, announced the provision of a free, carrier grade hotspot for Wi-Fi service during Inauguration Week along the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route giving the general public, event bloggers and the press on-site, high-speed access to the Internet.

The hotspot, which is now operational, will be open through January 22nd with coverage across Pershing Park on the north side of Pennsylvania Ave. between 14th and 15th Sts. NW. Some service is also available at Freedom Plaza (across from City Hall) and the northeastern corner of the Ellipse. The hotspot uses the same popular Wi-Fi compatible technology employed in home networks and coffee shops.

"Open Park's services will let the public share their Inauguration Week experiences on the Internet as they happen and open up one of the nation's most important events for real-time commentary," said Leo Cloutier, the group's Chief Technology Officer. "Along Pennsylvania Avenue, the service may also reduce the load on local cell phone networks."

Cloutier added: "Open Park's longer range plan is to provide free wireless Internet service across the National Mall and we are currently in talks with the Smithsonian Institution to install Wi-Fi access point equipment atop selected Mall museums."

Open Park's special Inauguration Week hotspot was made possible, in part, by a donation of equipment from Tropos Networks, Inc. of Sunnyvale, California, a leading supplier of metro-scale Wi-Fi network systems, and by contributions from the law firm of Vinson & Elkins LLP, which also serves as Open Park's pro bono counsel.

Open Park brought the first free outdoor hotspot to the nation's capitol in April 2004 when it launched an initial hotspot on Capitol Hill. It provides service in front of the Supreme Court and the site of the new Capitol Visitor's Center. The Capitol Hill hotspot will continue to be available to the public without charge during the Inauguration.

Contact information:

Greg Staple, President and Co-founder
Tel: 703-842-4851
gstaple@openpark.net

About Open Park:


Open Park is a District of Columbia 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded to bring free public Wi-Fi service to the National Mall. To learn more about Open Park's activities, visit http://www.openpark.net/.

About Tropos Networks, Inc.:

Tropos Networks, Inc. is a leading supplier of systems used to build metro-scale, outdoor Wi-Fi networks. The Tropos cellular mesh architecture and use of optimized open-standard radios dramatically reduce the need for

wired backhaul while eliminating expensive proprietary clients and complex software. For more information, please visit http://www.tropos.com/, call 650-286-4250 or write to info@tropos.com.

About Vinson & Elkins LLP:

For almost a century, Vinson & Elkins lawyers have provided innovative business solutions for clients whose needs are as diverse as the entities they represent. The firm's more than 750 lawyers are based in ten offices worldwide, including Washington, D.C., New York, Houston, London, Moscow, Dubai, Tokyo and Beijing. For more information, please contact Jay Hebert, Co-Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office at 202-639-6500 or jhebert@velaw.com.

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com/.


Source: Open Park Project

CONTACT: Greg Staple, President and Co-founder, Open Park,
+1-703-842-4851, gstaple@openpark.net; or Jay Hebert, Co-Managing Partner of
the Washington, D.C. office of Vinson & Elkins LLP, +1-202-639-6500 or
jhebert@velaw.com

Web site: http://www.tropos.com/

Web site: http://www.openpark.net/


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