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IBM's jStart Program Jump-Starts Software Development for Innovative Wireless Content Delivery Solutions

Posted on: Wednesday, 24 May 2006, 12:00 CDT

RALEIGH, NC and EXETER, UK, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- LastMile Communications Limited (http://www.lastmilecoms.com/), an innovative provider of secure, edge-of- network wireless content delivery solutions, has joined IBM's jStart program, designed to drive customer adoption of emerging technologies.

LastMile's collaboration with IBM through the jStart program will enable the company to fast track the development of its suite of software for both its WDirect(R) 1000 Information Node and its Harvester(TM) software for mobile devices.

"Having a deep relationship with the talent and resources at IBM enables LastMile to aggressively move our software development timetable forward," says Robert H. Turner, Executive Chairman, LastMile Communications. "This added software development capability will allow us to capitalize on the growing interest from communities looking for innovative ways to leverage wireless technologies and share information, such as municipalities and campus environments."

IBM's jStart developer group working with LastMile Communications spans the globe and includes presence in both Exeter-Devon in the United Kingdom and Raleigh, North Carolina. This proximity both enhances the synergy between the two companies while making sure the development process addresses regional concerns such as usage and the popularity of handheld devices by geography.

LastMile's unique node-based hardware system helps create wireless networks within fixed geographical locations, resulting in a low-cost, high- performance wireless content delivery for service providers, municipalities and users across many industries, including healthcare, universities, corporate enterprises, public security and transportation.

"LastMile's unique use of technology and innovative business model really sparked our interest," says James R. Smith, Manager, Emerging Internet Technologies, IBM Software Group. "Working with LastMile provides us with an opportunity to have an impact on a broad community of users who are hungry for tailored information and tools to help them better collaborate."

Established in 1997, IBM's jStart is a worldwide program for "jump- starting" the acceptance and implementation of emerging technologies. In the past the jStart team has delivered hundreds of projects in Java, J2EE and Web services. In the last year the team has been focusing on Service Oriented Architectures, Autonomic Computing, Open Source, Client Technologies, Rich Client Applications, Community Building, Next Generation Collaboration, including wikis, blogs and podcasting, as well as Social Networking and RFID.

"LastMile's technology fits extremely well with the current focus of IBM's jStart program, particularly its ability to enable collaboration within a community of users," adds Smith. "Working with companies like LastMile allows us access to innovative technologies that we might not otherwise have had the opportunity to develop in-house."

IBM's jStart Program is delivered by a pool of Engagement Managers and Solution Architects backed by IBM-certified software laboratories around the world. It has team members on location in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia.

The jStart engagement model is based on proven software development methodologies which connect client business objectives to the capabilities of emerging technologies.

About LastMile Communications (http://www.lastmilecoms.com/)

LastMile Communications is a British company pioneering a secure, edge of network wireless content delivery solution that helps supply rich media, voice and data to business and residential customers. Its unique node-based hardware system helps create wireless networks within fixed geographical locations, such as communities or office parks. By storing content locally on nodes, users can access or download information at speeds up to four times greater than that of cellular or other mobile networks. The result is low-cost, high performance wireless content delivery for service providers, municipalities and users across many industries. LastMile has offices located in both Exeter and London in the United Kingdom, as well as in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.

LastMile Communications

CONTACT: Media Contact: Gary Hilson, Sacke & Associates Inc.,(416) 493-5723, ext. 203, garyh@sackepr.com

Source: PRNewswire

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