San Francisco—February 8, 2005—Sputnik, a leading provider of Wi-Fi management products and services, today introduced SputnikNet Premier™, a hosted wireless network management service that can accept online payments for wireless Internet service through credit card billing and PayPal.
The new web-based service provides everything a business or Wi-Fi provider needs to manage fee-for-service wireless networks without installing server software. No software purchase is required, and no server hardware needs to be purchased and maintained.
The SputnikNet Premier PayPal feature enables any network user with an email address to pay securely for wireless Internet service. Operators choose their own rate plans; Sputnik charges no transaction fee for PayPal purchases.
SputnikNet Premier accepts credit card and bank account payments online through a link to a complete billing and customer relationship management system hosted by Aria Systems LLC. Sputnik customers establish an Aria services account directly with Aria Systems. A credit card merchant account is required.
Tyler Apgar, who co-founded leading Internet Service Provider Speakeasy, is using SputnikNet in his new company, GetLocal. Apgar says, "There's no command line or configuration or knowledge required. We had the first hotspot up in four hours, with a captive portal with its own graphics. You just don't have to be technical to do this, or pay $3,000 to install a server."
A SputnikNet Premier account costs $49.95 to activate, and can manage any number of Sputnik-powered access points. Subscription fees are $29.95 per month or $299 per year, per access point. Existing customers can upgrade from the basic SputnikNet™ service to SputnikNet Premier with no activation fee.
"Since the first SputnikNet service was launched last year, customers have been drawn to the salesforce.com simplicity of using a hosted service to manage both networks and subscribers," said David LaDuke, Sputnik CEO. "You have no server hardware to maintain and you are always on the latest version of the software, without the hassle of software upgrades or field service visits."
According to LaDuke, a hosted service is ideal for a business without technical staff or for a fast-growing ISP managing multiple networks. A new Wi-Fi hotspot can be up and running within minutes after plugging an access points into a broadband connection.
Award-Winning Sputnik Heritage
SputnikNet Premier and SputnikNet deliver the functionality of the award-winning Sputnik Control Center™ software. It lets network administrators track usage by user and location, and capture "opt-in" marketing information about their wireless customers. Administrators can block usage of specific protocols such as peer-to-peer file swapping, and secure internal networks, making them available only to employees. In addition to monitoring real-time network status, administrators use the secure web interface to configure APs remotely, create custom captive portal pages, set network policies, and generate reports.
Sputnik Inc. is a leading provider of software that allows wireless service providers to manage Wi-Fi networks over the Internet. Sputnik's full-featured remote network and subscriber management features allow cost-effective operation in locations without onsite technical support. The company offers a family of wireless application modules and managed access points to support a variety of businesses, service providers, and institutions. The privately funded company is based in San Francisco.
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