Ardent Communications Launches New Product Line Focused On Broadband Communications Needs of Business Travelers

Ardent Anywhere offers the highest quality and most comprehensive data services available today including broadband Internet connectivity, specialized Internet support, and sales partnership for hotels, meeting rooms, and convention centers. The product lines available include the Ardent Anywhere:

• Automated Business Center,
• Broadband Meeting Room Solution,
• Internet Coffee Table,
• Internet Lounge, and the
• Broadband Support Package.

The new portfolio includes the company's flagship Automated Business Center, a self-service island of business equipment including computers, printers, dataports, copiers, and fax machines that are all remotely monitored and maintained by Ardent. With the Automated Business Center, hospitality establishments have the ability to offer their guests high-speed Internet access and business services while on the road. These services also give hospitality establishments the ability to earn additional revenue while providing their customers and guests with the equipment they need while away from home.

"Ardent Anywhere's broad suite of solutions is focused on the needs of the business traveler as well as of corporate conventions and meetings. These expanded product offerings leverage our foothold in the hospitality industry while also bringing us closer to profitability," said Michael Martinez, senior vice president of hospitality sales. "The goal of these products and services is to give business travelers and mobile users a reliable way to do business, check email, surf the web, shop online, create presentations, copy materials, send timely documents and more all while away from home and the office."

Automated Business Center

Ardent's Automated Business Center product is a full-service, integrated business center. The centers include high speed Internet access, computers, office software, laptop ports, digital fax capability and state-of-the-art color printers and copiers. This product is available in a variety of colors and layouts to fit any room or location. All services are credit card activated and charged directly to the customer. Ardent also offers a Mini Automated Business Center which enables properties with limited space to offer their customers the same services as a full-size business center. This unit includes a touch-screen credit card activation console, a fully configured business-class PC, a combined color printer/fax/copier unit and a laptop data port.

Broadband Meeting Room Solution

The Broadband Meeting Room Solution provides hotels and corporate clients with an end-to-end, fully managed, completely turnkey broadband Internet solution for in-house meetings, conventions, and conferences. This service includes bandwidth as well as the set-up, remote monitoring and maintenance, customer service, and direct billing to the corporate client. Since a contract has already been established with the property owner, the bandwidth to the property is already provisioned, eliminating lengthy provisioning times and local loop charges. Ardent Anywhere's meeting and convention specialists take complete ownership of the process for the hotel, including sales, engineering, technology and billing and can provide an on-site technician at the corporate client's request. The Broadband Meeting Room Solution is priced per event, based on the technology the customer requires and pays out a 50 percent commission on all contracts to the property owner or event planner.

Internet Coffee Table

Ardent's Internet Coffee Table is designed to provide comfortable, private Internet access in public spaces and is ideal for any public area where customers have downtime, including airports, hospitals, waiting rooms, or cyber-cafes. This solution includes credit card swipe technology, privacy glass, high speed Internet access, monitors and computers and enables customers to stay connected anytime, anywhere.

Internet Lounge

The Ardent Internet Lounge is designed for spaces frequented by business travelers and includes data ports for laptop plug-in and multiple managed PC stations for travelers without laptops. These services are also credit card activated and charged directly to the customer.

Ardent Anywhere Broadband Support Package

Ardent Anywhere provides customers and property owners with the Broadband Support Package which supports and monitors all Ardent Anywhere products and detects when a device is having problems. Ardent can then remotely correct the issue, send out a team to repair the problem, or contact the property owner for on-site maintenance. This extensive monitoring capability includes maintaining and supporting Internet connections, console software upgrades, repairing and/or replacing equipment, and informing properties when systems are low on toner, paper, and other supplies.

For more information on Ardent Communications, please visit or call 800-270-0000.

Ardent Communications, Inc. ARDT is a nationwide supplier of broadband Internet access solutions and provides price competitive high speed Internet services to businesses in 29 Points of Presence (serving 38 metro areas) across the nation utilizing a tier-one, nationwide Internet network. The Company offers always-on, broadband Internet access to its customers through its digital subscriber line (DSL) service, and through T-1, DS-3 and other bandwidth connections in major metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. Additionally, the Company provides bundled data services including Web hosting, colocation services and other value added managed data services. Finally, the Company also provides service to certain hotel properties utilizing installed high speed Internet service and business centers. The Company uses its unmanned business centers and Internet kiosks to deliver broadband Internet access and content to hotels and public venues, such as airports, retail centers, and cruise ships.

Ardent Communications, Inc. is headquartered in Arlington, VA. and operates a coast-to-coast OC-12 clear-channel network, and peers with public and private partners, and at national exchange points.

This release contains statements relating to Ardent's future expectations and business strategies or other "forward-looking" information. Those statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ from projections include, among others: changes in business and market conditions; changes in the Internet services industry and the general economy; our limited operating history; our ability to manage rapid growth; our ability to enter into joint ventures and other strategic relationships with companies on terms acceptable to us; access to additional capital; and the impact of computer and related problems that may arise from our operations.