eDispatch.com Signs Agreement with Southern LINC
``First of its kind' Contract Offers eDispatch Service to U.S. Mobile
Workers
VANCOUVER, Sept. 7 /CNW/ - eDispatch.com Wireless Data Inc. (VSE: EWD)
has signed a ``Commercial Licensing Agreement' with Southern LINC(R), a
wholly owned wireless communications subsidiary of Southern Company, the
largest producer of electricity in the United States, to provide access to
eDispatch.com's Wireless Internet Dispatch System. With this agreement,
Southern LINC plans to offer eDispatch service to its more than 100,000
subscriber base which includes businesses in the transportation, healthcare,
utilities and government, security, field service and repair industry sectors.
Southern LINC will offer eDispatch service as part of its Informance
Solutions(SM) suite of wireless data and Internet services to be introduced in
the fourth quarter of 1999.
``The agreement with Southern LINC represents a breakthrough for the
mobile workplace because it makes sophisticated dispatch services simple,
accessible and affordable,' said Brian Ellis, President of eDispatch.com.
``The agreement is also a strong signal to the marketplace that eDispatch.com
is the preferred choice of a market leader such as Southern LINC. With more
than 100,000 subscribers, Southern LINC represents nearly six percent of the
total U.S. mobile market that we are targeting as a company*.'
With eDispatch, Southern LINC customers will have access to the benefits
of a managed and connected mobile workforce at a fraction of the cost of
traditional CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) systems. The first ``Internet
hosted' dispatch service of its kind, eDispatch.com allows businesses to
enjoy the efficiencies of expensive CAD systems while utilizing widely
available Internet browsers. eDispatch.com's complete solution can be accessed
via the Internet and scaled to meet the needs of customers as they grow.
The eDispatch.com system utilizes Motorola's i1000plus(TM) and
i500plus(TM) handsets, designed for business users who rely heavily on robust
voice and data communications to receive e-mail, fax, voicemail alerts and
two-way messaging. The eDispatch.com solution also uses the Phone.com, Inc.
microbrowser technology to facilitate the interface for the customer.
``By establishing the first hosted dispatch service for wireless business
customers, eDispatch.com has positioned itself strongly for future growth with
other wireless communications providers in the U.S. and global marketplace,'
said Ellis. ``Our continued success will help us to create the industry
standard for hosted dispatch services in wireless and give the growing market
base a simple and easy method for maximizing the productivity of their mobile
workforce.'
About Southern LINC
Southern LINC, which stands for Long-range Integrated Network
Communications, covers more than 127,000 square miles in the Southeast,
including both major metro and rural areas. Using Motorola's iDEN(R)
technology, Southern LINC combines multiple communication services into one
handheld or installed device including Instant LINC (two-way radio), phone
service, numeric and text paging and mobile data.
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an international energy company with more
than $35 billion in assets through regional utilities and operations around
the world. It is the largest producer of electricity in the United States and
one of the world's leading independent power producers. Based in Atlanta,
Southern Company is the parent firm of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf
Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric. Through its Southern Energy
Inc. subsidiary, Southern Company supplies electricity in 10 countries on four
continents and has a growing presence in North America with assets in the
Northeast, the Midwest, California and Texas. Southern Company also provides
energy-related marketing, trading and technical services in the United States
and Europe and offers Southern LINC wireless telecommunications.
About eDispatch.com Wireless Data Inc.
A VSE listed company, eDispatch.com develops, markets and licenses
Internet Appliance application software to Wireless Network Operators
worldwide. The Company also provides related services, such as application
hosting, support and maintenance. The products are designed to be used on the
data enabled public wireless communications networks with standard Internet
appliances, such as new generation digital cell phones, two-way pagers, PDA's
and CE devices.
The Company's first application software product is ``eDispatch', a
wireless Internet dispatch solution that extends mobile workforce management
to the field. The product includes hosted software applications, wireless
connectivity middleware and back-end system integration software.
* A 1997 Pelorus Group study tabulated the total U.S. mobile workforce
at 3 million workers. Of this, the study concluded nearly 60 percent or
1.8 million were working in the transportation, healthcare, utilities and
government, security, field services and repair market sectors. More
recently, a study from Dataquest has indicated that the market is
expected to grow to 36 million by 2003.
Southern LINC and Informance Solutions are salesmarks or registered
trademarks of Southern LINC.
Motorola, iDEN, i1000plus and i500plus are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Motorola, Inc.
The Vancouver Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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For further information: Brian J. Ellis, President and CEO,
eDispatch.com, (604) 320-2100, bellis@edispatch.com; Stacey Liederman,
Headline Group for Southern LINC, (404) 262-3000,
sliederman@headlinegroup.com |
