Singapore, March 23, 2004 WI-FI ROAMING AT McDONALD'S Offered free until end april, "value pricing" at SGD$3.00 per hour thereafter. The first "second generation public Wi-Fi network".

Singapore’s first “second generation public Wi-Fi network" was officially launched by Mr Khoong Hock Yun, Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Industry) of Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore at McDonald’s restaurants today. Unlike other networks, this is an open roaming network, meaning that it is not tied up exclusively with just one Internet service provider (ISP). Taking customer service to another level, the Wi-Fi roaming is being offered free to all McDonald’s customers until the end of April. Thereafter, a highly competitive value pricing at $3.00 will be in place to ensure that Wi-Fi roaming at McDonald’s continues to be accessible to everyone.

With McDonald’s Wi-Fi roaming in all its restaurants by end April, there will be more than 600 wireless hotspots in Singapore. McDonald’s will contribute to more than 20% of the total number of hotspots in Singapore. Hotspots will now be easily within one’s reach with the spread of McDonald’s restaurants island wide. Moreover, this brings the total number of public hotspots in Singapore closer to the 753a which was forecasted by IDC for the year of 2004.

“Quality. Service. Value. These are the pillars which McDonald’s build upon we continue to offer our customers more choices and as we evolve restaurants to be more relevant to consumer lifestyles. Given this, technology playing a vital role in our plans. Indeed, from our standpoint, it is not just about introducing Internet terminals, flat-screen televisions and music videos into re-imaged restaurants but also helping to facilitate a wireless networking lifestyle," said Bob Beard, Managing Director, McDonald’s Restaurants.

“Singapore enjoys a reputation for being IT-savvy and an early technology adoptor. We are very pleased that with SkyNetGlobal and our other technology partners, we are able to offer customers a Wi-Fi roaming network that is the most accessible, versatile and at a value price. This is yet another investment we have made to demonstrate that we are serious about being relevant to our customers’ lifestyles, “ said Mr Beard.

“With 125 McDonald’s outlets going wireless, this brings the number of public wireless hotspots in Singapore to more than 600 island wide. This is a significant number for a tiny country like ours. It means that there is approximately one wireless hotspot located within every square kilometre of land space. According to IDC's Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) Public WLAN Hotspot Access Forecast and Analysis, 2002-2007, Singapore will have almost 3 Wi-Fi hotspots per square kilometre of land space by 2007. Going by this measure of hotspot density, we are the most connected country using wireless broadband," said Mr Khoong Hock Yun, Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Industry) of Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.

The Chief Executive Officer of SkyNetGlobal, Jonathan Soon said, "SkyNetGlobal is pleased to be a member of a team that has created Singapore's most accessible, versatile, and affordable Wi-Fi network. Both McDonald's and SkyNetGlobal share the same vision for this network in terms of accessibility and affordability. We congratulate all members of the team, including suppliers and the licensing authority, who have been excellent to work with. The spread of McDonald's restaurants makes the chain an ideal fit for Wi-Fi and we are most confident that consumers will be quick to take advantage of this second generation network, which is the first in Singapore."

SkyNetGlobal Limited is reputed for its open network access and for having the most advanced technology and security features. The whole network for McDonald’s, from its core architecture, functionality and contents, to the choice of hardware and equipment, and to the design and marketing features follows the “design-for-lifestyle" concept. Consequently, there are several features that are unique and go far beyond the standard “hot spot" features:

• SkyNetGlobal network works on the basis of being an “open network", that is, ISPs are able to provide access to their members provided there is a roaming agreement with SkyNetGlobal. This applies to access by members of local ISPs and international ISPs through iPass or GRIC. Ad-hoc users can also purchase access sessions from SkyNetGlobal on a retail basis.
• A singular wireless broadband network based on the 802.11b technical standard that also has high quality, high grade security via deployment of Cisco routers and a whole host of security/LAN technologies at each of the restaurants and at the SkyNetGlobal network core. Together with managed VLAN switches to ensure integrity, the SkyNetGlobal network is also the carriage network for a number of VPNs, including McDonald’s in-house data and backend traffic for any new services.
• Advanced security and policy-based traffic shaping. This feature includes bandwidth control and service placement support. The SkyNetGlobal network supports bandwidth-limiting functionality for downstream connection. This will allow differentiation of user experiences based on service agreements with different categories of users.
• Ease of purchase – The SkyNetGlobal network will provide retail single session sales with credit cards and is working on a system which handles payment using stored value cards/cash cards.
  Flash-based, feature-rich login page and walled garden features which are fully customisable, making it easy for login assistance. This also creates opportunities to perform e -commerce.
  The SkyNetGlobal network architecture is also optimised for efficient delivery of future services under development such as game server, video streaming and video conferencing.
  

About SkyNetGlobal Limited
Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX:SKG) and headquartered in Sydney, SkyNetGlobal is a leading innovator of wireless broadband solutions specialising in 802.11 wireless (Wi-Fi) and Home Plug powerline technologies. SkyNetGlobal’s solutions include a global remote access service called “Connector" providing internet connectivity to 2500 wireless hotspots worldwide, and W Home, a smart home system designed to deliver efficiency, convenience and cost savings for apartment dwellers, offering broadband and home automation products. (website: www.skynetglobal.com)