Paris, France – January 25th, 2006: free-hotspot.com announces today that 2005 saw dramatic growth in the number of free Wi-Fi HotSpots in Europe, with a 17% increase in the fourth quarter of the year, according to independent data from JiWire, Inc. Furthermore, JiWire’s numbers show that France led Europe’s growth in Q4 with more than a 100% increase in the number of free HotSpots, followed by the United Kingdom which had a nearly 40% increase in the number of free HotSpots.

“We are committed to further accelerating this rapid growth of FREE Wi-Fi in Europe,” said Joe Brunoli, Vice President of Market Development for free-hotspot.com., “That is why free-hotspot.com will provide free equipment and HotSpot software to anyone who wants to install a FREE HotSpot in their business.”

Kevin McKenzie, CEO of JiWire, a leading provider of Wi-Fi hotspot information and services, explained the impact of these statistics. “The total number of Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide has now surpassed 100,000,” he said, “and the increasing number of free hotspots is a key part of this growth. Companies like free-hotspot.com are significant contributors to this trend.”

Brunoli agreed with the JiWire assessment and added a reason for the rapid expansion: “European business owners are beginning to understand the fact that FREE Wi-Fi brings them more customers. This means that more and more hotels, restaurants, cafés and other businesses will be adding a FREE HotSpot to increase their monthly sales,” he said. “For that reason, the growth of FREE Wi-Fi will only continue to gain momentum as we move into 2006.”

free-hotspot.com is also committed to supporting the users of free Wi-Fi through their searchable online directory, which lists more than 7,500 free HotSpots throughout the world. To search for the free HotSpot nearest you,
please visit www.free-hotspot.com/find_home.htm.

About free-hotspot.com:

free-hotspot.com is rapidly building Europe’s largest community of FREE wireless Internet users. The company has launched a pan-European programme to bring free Wi-Fi to cafés, hotels, pubs, Restaurants, retail centres, transit centres and other public venues. Under this programme, free-hotspot.com provides the equipment and expertise needed to operate a FREE HotSpot at no cost to the venue owner, and then promotes these free HotSpots through a combination of local and national marketing campaigns. The company also maintains Europe’s most comprehensive directory of free HotSpots, which currently lists more than 7,500 locations worldwide. free-hotspot.com is located in Dublin, Ireland. To learn more about the free HotSpot programme or to find the free HotSpot nearest you, visit: www.free-hotspot.com.

Press contact:
Emma Keenan
Open2Europe
Phone: +33 1 55 02 14 59
e.keenan@open2europe.com