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To: Bouf who wrote (81785)7/5/1999 10:49:00 PM
From: Raj Ramaswamy  Respond to of 119973
 
CYBS going much higher..! See this Red Herring Report, how bullish the
report is. CYBS is being viewed as one of top leaders...!

redherring.com



To: Bouf who wrote (81785)7/5/1999 11:25:00 PM
From: Deeber  Respond to of 119973
 
THRM (Thermaltec, soon to be PC Roomlink) article about PC Roomlink today in the Atlantic City Press...

Area tech firm gives travelers laptop relief

Hotel system has fast Web access
PCRoom:

By JOSEPH SWAVY

Staff Writer, (609) 272-7253

MILLVILLE -- Laptops have increasingly become part of the traveling businessman's arsenal, but Jim Rossi, chairman and chief executive officer of Solar Communications Group Inc., claims more than 60 percent of travelers dislike lugging their portable computers and fumbling with phone-line attachments to connect to the Internet.

After hearing the complaints, Rossi, also CEO of the Millville-based JMR Marketing, a telecommunications brokerage and consulting firm, started Solar Communications in 1996. The company's product is PCRoomLink, a system of personal computers with high-speed Internet access that are installed in hotel rooms.

"It allows the customer to throw his laptop in the trash," Rossi said. "We feel laptops will be obsolete in a few years. We are slightly ahead of technology."

Last month, the company installed PCRoomLink in its first hotel, the Holiday Inn in Runnemede. A second hotel, the Houstonian in Houston, is scheduled to be operating by the end of this month.

"We felt it was a nice amenity to our guests," said Bhavesh Patel, president of the Holiday Inn in Runnemede. "A lot of corporate people who stay in the hotel are looking for ways to get on the Internet."

Contracts with hotels

Solar Communications executives just returned from a computer trade show in Atlanta and said they are working out contracts with 30 hotels around the world. The company expects to have 80 hotels wired by the end of the year and 3,000 properties by 2002.

PCRoomLink is installed at no cost to the hotel. The company installs the system and houses the computer and flat-screen monitor in fold-down cabinets crafted to match the room's decor. The system costs about $400,000 to install in 100 hotel rooms.

Patel said he was impressed by the service because it did not affect his phone lines or interfere with the room's television service like other Internet services. He also said not having to invest in the system made the decision easy.

"The investment helps a lot," he said. "I think it is a good way to show they are really standing behind their product."

The computer is always on and hotel guests can access the Internet for a daily fee of $17.95. PCRoomLink enters into three-year contracts with the hotel and agrees to pay the hotel a portion -- up to 25 percent -- of the daily fee.

"We select the hotel to be partners," Rossi said. "The user is the customer."

"We feel we can create a network of 5 million people nationally and send them to our hotels. That way everyone wins."

Added services

Besides allowing guests to access the Internet and their e-mail, PCRoomLink customers can use Microsoft Office programs at no additional charge. Businesses also can become PCRoomLink members, allowing them to store programs and access them from a hotel room.

"It is to please the business travelers," said Michael DiLeva, director of marketing communications. "It is not about the hotels, it's about service.

"The vision is to create a bundle of services for the business traveler that will make their lives easier. If we can make their lives easier -- that's a better mousetrap."

PCRoomLink also allows corporations to pare costs by eliminating the need for laptop computers, DiLeva said. Companies simply need to pay for the in-room service when they need it.

The system also includes several free services for hotel guests. By using the system interface, guests can play computer games, order room service, purchase clothing or flowers and make future hotel, airline and car rental reservations.

"We want them to start playing with the system," DiLeva said. "We want to let them know it is safe and won't bite. It is to our benefit to get them comfortable with it."

Solar Communications is selective in choosing hotels to offer the service. Basic requirements include a minimum of 250 rooms, an average daily rate of $125 and a large business client base.

"We need to be cautious we are going with the right hotel," DiLeva said. "We're spending millions and millions of dollars marketing to the end user. If those end users go to a hotel that is substandard, we've lost any chance of keeping them."

Moving to new facility

The company had a staff of three in January and worked out of a 6,000-square-foot office. This week a staff of 72 employees was preparing to move to a 60,000-square-foot facility.

Solar Communications is a private company consisting of more than $12 million of investment, said Ray Romano, vice president and chief financial officer. However, company executives plan to become a publicly held company and expect to file merger plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission next week. Mergers are considered by the SEC within 10 to 90 days.

The company plans to conduct a "reverse merger" with ThermalTec International Corp., a publicly held metallurgical engineering company in West Babylon, New York, Romano said. ThermalTec plans to transfer its assets to a subsidiary allowing Solar Communications to trade under ThermalTec's symbol, THRM.