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Wireless Facilities Selected by Westfield to Bring High-Speed Wireless Internet Access (Wi-Fi) to Shopping Centers
SAN DIEGO, May 15, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Wireless
Facilities, Inc. (WFI) (Nasdaq: WFII), a global leader in the design, deployment
and management of wireless telecommunications networks, today announced that it
has been selected by Westfield (ASX: WFA) as the exclusive provider of Wireless
LAN (WLAN) integration services for the Company's US shopping centers.
Westfield is one of the leading fully integrated shopping center organizations
in the world. The company serves as developer, architect, builder, and property
manager for an $18.4 billion portfolio of 112 shopping centers worldwide,
comprising over 90 million square feet of retail space. Under the terms of the
agreement, Wireless Facilities will fully enable Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity)
connectivity, which is a high-speed wireless access technology that allows users
to connect to the Internet without using any form of wiring or cabling, into all
Westfield Shoppingtowns in the U.S. using Cisco components. Visitors to these
locations will be able to access the Internet using any wireless enabled laptop
or PDA, making Westfield the first fully wirelessly integrated group of shopping
locations in the world. In addition, Westfield retailers will have the
opportunity to access a wide variety of new wireless enabled features, which
will allow them to enhance the way they do business and interface with their
customers. Westfield will also be the first to leverage the wireless environment
to enhance the customer experience inside the shopping center from both the
marketing and customer service standpoint.
"We are very pleased to have been selected by Westfield as their turnkey partner
for this exciting initiative," said Frankie Farjood, President of Enterprise
Solutions, WFI. "Today we are seeing the rapid integration of wireless
technology into the enterprise space, with an increasing number of retail and
commercial establishments offering high-speed Internet access and other
amenities as an additional feature to their customers. Westfield is taking this
a step further by being the first fully integrated shopping center company to
wirelessly enable all of their locations. We believe this initiative will truly
showcase the many ways in which wireless technology is changing the way people
work and live, and WFI is thrilled to be a part of it."
As a turnkey partner, Wireless Facilities will provide Westfield with a fully
integrated set of solutions, supplying backhaul, networking equipment, Wireless
LAN design and installation, network maintenance, electronic security, as well
as on-going network monitoring through the Company's Network Operations Center
(NOC). The first locations to be deployed will be the Westfield Shoppingtowns in
San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York.
Subsequent locations will be built-out on an on-going basis.
"Westfield is pleased to be working with Wireless Facilities to bring Wi-Fi to
our shoppers and retailers," said Todd Putman, Executive Vice President
Marketing, Westfield. "Wireless technology's anytime, anywhere capabilities will
profoundly enhance the shopping experience and transform the way our retail
partners conduct business."
About Wireless Facilities
A global leader in telecommunications outsourcing, Wireless Facilities, Inc.
designs, deploys and manages wireless networks for some of the largest cellular
and PCS carriers and equipment suppliers worldwide. Specializing in network
architecture and dimensioning of mobile and high speed wireless data systems,
including third generation (3G) networks, WFI provides a complete range of
network services -- from business and market planning to RF engineering, fixed
network engineering, IP and data engineering, site acquisition and development,
installation, optimization and maintenance. WFI is headquartered in San Diego
and has performed work in over 100 countries since the Company was founded in
late 1994. The Company has offices in Dallas, Chicago, Seattle, Reston,
Montvale, London, Gothenburg, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, and Bejing. News and
information are available at www.wfinet.com .
About Westfield America
Westfield America, Inc. is the United States subsidiary of Westfield America
Trust (ASX: WFA), the second-largest property trust listed on the Australian
Stock Exchange. WFA owns a majority interest in the Westfield America portfolio
of 63 shopping centers, branded as Westfield Shoppingtowns. Westfield
Shoppingtowns are home to more than 8,400 specialty stores and encompass 64
million square feet in the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida,
Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio and Washington.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements including, without
limitation, express or implied statements concerning the Company's expectations
regarding future financial performance and market developments that involve
risks and uncertainties. The Company operates in a very dynamic market
environment, and expectations or assumptions that appear reasonable as of the
date hereof may not be reasonable at any point in the future. Words such as
"anticipates," "expects," "projects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "may,"
"will," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. Such statements are only predictions, and the Company's actual
results may differ materially. Factors that may cause the Company's results to
differ include, but are not limited to: changes in the scope or timing of the
Company's projects; continued and additional slowdowns in telecommunications
infrastructure spending in the United States and globally, which could delay
network deployment and reduce demand for the Company's services; the timing,
rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer contracts and agreements,
or consolidation by or the loss of key customers; the adoption rate of new
wireless data services; potential losses or lost opportunities arising from the
Company's operation of its variable cost model; potential write-offs of goodwill
and other long-lived assets; financial constraints on our customers that could
cause us to write off accounts receivable or terminate contracts; failure to
successfully consummate acquisitions or integrate acquired operations; changes
in the Company's effective income tax rate; the rate of adoption of telecom
outsourcing by network carriers and equipment suppliers; the rate of growth of
adoption of WLAN and wireless security systems by enterprises; and competition
in the marketplace which could reduce revenues and profit margins. Although the
Company believes that the expectations reflected in any forward-looking
statements made herein are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee future
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company undertakes
no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made to conform to actual
results or to changes to expectations. These and other risk factors are more
fully discussed under "Risks Related to Our Business" and elsewhere in the
Company's readily available Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 21, 2003
and in other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For further information, please contact: media, Catharine C. Dickey, Vice
President, Communications of Westfield, +1-310-445-2407; or Gina Aven, Marketing
Director of Wireless Facilities, Inc., +1-858-228-2589, gina.aven@wfinet.com .
SOURCE Wireless Facilities, Inc.
CONTACT: Catharine C. Dickey, Vice President, Communications of
Westfield, +1-310-445-2407; or Gina Aven, Marketing Director of Wireless
Facilities, Inc., +1-858-228-2589, gina.aven@wfinet.com
URL: www.wfinet.com
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