London, United Kingdom – 12 July 2007, - free-hotspot.com and MeshHopper announce today that they have partnered to launch "online-4-free.com" which will provide FREE Wi-Fi access along the Thames River for 22 kilometres from Millbank to Greenwich. This new service will not only provide FREE Wi-Fi Internet access in hotels, restaurants, cafes and offices along the riverside, but also to people in boats on the Thames.

"This really marks the arrival of free Wi-Fi in greater London,” said Dan Toomey, Chief Executive Officer of free-hotspot.com. “Millions of Londoners as well as commuters, visitors and tourists can now expect to find free Wi-Fi as they work or play along the Thames,” he added. “We look forward to working with online-4-free.com to ensure the success of the service here in London as well as in other cities throughout Europe."

The free Wi-Fi service will be supported by sponsors, and users will be asked to watch a 15-30 second advert in order to obtain 15 minutes of free wireless Internet service.

“The market asked us for free Wi-Fi and we listened,” said Nigel Wesley, Chief Executive Officer of MeshHopper. “Since 2005, we’ve been opening up digital access with affordable Wi-Fi offers. This free service will broaden our appeal further and make Internet access available to everyone, even those who are not willing or not able to pay.”

About MeshHopper:
MeshHopper, a wireless Internet Service Provider, aims to make the internet accessible to all.  Since 2002, the company has built and operated wireless broadband networks in diverse urban environments, including Ireland, Malaysia and the UK. MeshHopper operates one of the largest mesh Wi-Fi networks in Europe, offering uninterrupted wireless broadband coverage along approximately 22km of the Thames river, from Millbank to Greenwich.  Services are offered over this network to corporate organisations and to the public. 

MeshHopper operates in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum and holds two licences from Ofcom for test and operations in the 5.8GHz band.  The company has proven expertise in wireless network deployment, from design and initial installation to remote monitoring and troubleshooting.  It has experience in supporting multiple services including secure VPNs, CCTV, VoIP and other applications requiring real time data transmission. www.online-4-free.com.

About free-hotspot.com:

free-hotspot.com operates the world’s largest free wireless network with over 1,500 FREE HotSpot locations in 16 countries throughout Europe. The company’s HotSpots are located in hotels, cafés, restaurants, pubs, petrol stations and other public venues. To gain access to the free-hotspot.com’s free wireless Internet service, users agree to watch an advertisement. For this innovation, free-hotspot.com received the prestigious WBI (Wireless Broadband Innovation) Award for Best Public Wi-Fi Product 2006. The profitability of the company’s programme for HotSpot operators was also recognised when free-hotspot.com was named “Best Business Idea” for the hospitality industry at the 2006 FIZZZ Awards in Germany.

free-hotspot.com supports an active user community and provides free wireless Internet service to more than 250,000 people each month. The company operates the industry’s most comprehensive directory of free HotSpots which currently lists more than 17,000 free wireless internet locations worldwide.

To learn more about the free HotSpot programme or to find the free HotSpot nearest you, please visit: www.free-hotspot.com.

Press contact:
Emma Keenan / Johanna Toiviainen
Open2Europe
Phone: +33 1 55 02 14 59/58
e-mail: e.keenan@open2europe.com / j.toiviainen@open2europe.com