CambridgeMatrix - Sit in Hot Seat for Free Internet

Hotspots, which provide free wireless Internet access anywhere are appearing all over Cambridge, and are now offering free access to many services and websites.

Anyone in range of one of these Hotspots gets free unlimited downloads, quizzes and games, and free Internet access to popular websites, including Google, the Post Office, HMV, Harrods, Waitrose Entertaining, Apple Store, Skype, iTunes, and many others. Local websites, news, where to find things, what's happening in the area, entertainment, where to buy train or bus tickets, timetables, where to rent a flat or buy a house, find an accountant, drink, or eat close by are all available for free from the Hotspot and relevant to location, including a map.

Navigating the New Year sales will be much easier if you can stop off in the warm at Sauce Bar on the corner of Station Road, with beer and tortillas, and start your shop or your browse of the local stores, instantly for free. The technology also provides a convenient way to send "wish you were here" e-mails and digital photos only moments after they are taken. "Our customers appreciate the free unlimited downloads, as many broadband packages now have transfer limits, and going over these can mean getting charged more or being cut-off," says Rend Shakir, CEO of Cambridge Matrix.

Subscribers can also use their Cambridge Matrix Internet accounts at any of these public access hotspots, where they get access to their free email accounts, and Web Space.

"Despite tough economic conditions, wireless continues to shine as more consumers are using more wireless minutes and choosing more wireless services. And, they're paying less for the flexibility and convenience of being in touch when, where and how they want to be,' says Dr Peter Radley, the Company's Executive Chairman.

"Wireless is advancing at a particularly fast rate, as more companies introduce more features. From ring tones to picture phones, from text messaging to hi-speed wireless Web browsing, wireless data is making waves in both the consumer and business marketplaces," says Valerie Holt, the Company's Chief Operating Officer.

The City's 150 year old accountancy firm Peter's Elsworthy and Moore based on Station Road, uses the technology to connect their two buildings, following their recent acquisition of accountancy practice Imray & Co. "We opted for a high speed 54 Mbps wireless link from Cambridge Matrix, instead of a leased line from BT, and have been running free voice over wireless broadband between our offices, saving enormous sums", says John Stanton, PEM's IT Manager. The firm's16 partners are now shareholders in Zedmatrix, Cambridge Matrix's mother company, which was selected by Red Herring Magazine this year as one of the top 200 private companies in Europe.

The idea of wireless Hot Spots talking to each other, passing Internet data between them at ultra fast speeds, has similar implications to when computers could talk to each other forming a network of connections that became known as the World Wide Web. Today, across the City's growing network of Hot Spots, which we call the "Matrix," all data passing through is free and instantly accessible by anyone anywhere with no special software or log-in requirements.

There's another implication to this as well. By allowing Hot Spots to talk to each other they can pass signals onto each other dynamically, so you get continuous access while walking or driving without any disconnections. This creates zones that smoothly hand over to each other, providing relevant data at each location. Hot Spot owners benefit as more customers come into their zones, stay longer and spend more, and organisations will gain from the extra exposure that comes from putting their websites onto free access.

The BBC has spotted the potential of this too, and will be showing a demo of the technology and interview of Rend on Monday 6th February 7.30pm-8pm on BBC 1

"It is wonderful to be able to sometimes escape from my home office and work from a number of other locations in or around my home, as well as in the City" says Imogen Grunden, a Cambridge Matrix customer who will also be appearing on the program.

To find out more contact Cambridge Matrix on 01223 573 170 or visit the Cambridge Matrix Website and tune in at BBC Inside Out next month.

Note: CEN January 3rd 2006


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