eWireless to Establish Wi-Fi Zone For Gen Con Convention

The event is expected to attract 25,000 attendees and have an economic impact on the city of $30 million. eWireless says free Wi-Fi zones offer cities a competitive edge when attracting major conventions. eWireless is also partnering with several organizations on the "Indy Wi-Fi Initiative," which it will announce at a later date.

Source: Inside INdiana Business

Press Release

Indianapolis, IN (August 07, 2006) - Game enthusiasts from around the globe will descend on Indianapolis for the best four days in gaming. An estimated 25,000 people are expected to attend this annual event with an economic impact of over 30 million dollars to the city.

“We are watching many cities across the country as they implement free wireless internet zones as an economic development tool.” says Henry Kurkowski Vice President of Business Development for Indianapolis based eWireless. “One of the reasons these cities are using Free Wi-Fi is to be competitive with other markets and to become more attractive to large conventions like Gen Con. By working with events like Gen Con and offering their attendees Free Wi-Fi express accounts, eWireless can help Indianapolis maintain a competitive edge & track the impact of free wireless internet on a major event in the city.

The Free Wi-Fi express account will allow Gen Con attendees to wirelessly access the internet with a pre-assigned login I.D. and password at any eWireless Hotspot in the greater Indianapolis area without giving out any personal information. These Wi-Fi Hotspots are at many varied locations across the city, from cultural destinations such as Monument Circle, Hilbert Circle Theater & Indiana State Museum to restaurants like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Hard Rock Café, Jillian’s & Alcatraz Brewing Co. To help express true Hoosier Hospitality and welcome Gen Con to our city the Arts Council of Indianapolis is also getting involved.

The Arts Council is participating by setting up an eWireless Hotspot in the Artsgarden during the week of the event. “This is a great opportunity to draw the visitors of our city to the Artsgarden Cultural Concierge” says Janet Boston, Director of Marketing for the Arts Council. “Working to bring Gen Con’s attendees to the Artsgarden gives us a way to expose them to the many great arts, cultural and city attractions while being a one-stop source for information and services.”

As the country continues to grow as a mobile nation, the demand for wireless internet access is increasing at an incredible rate. An ever growing consumer base feels the need to constantly be “connected” and is looking for places to sit down, and log on with their laptop computers or PDA’s. This is especially true when people are traveling to other cities to attend events like Gen Con.

“This is a valuable service for our attendees” says Adrian Parchment, Director of Sales & Marketing for Gen Con LLC. “These people are tech savvy and they use the internet for both recreation and for work. It’s great for us to know that they can come to the Indianapolis area for our event and not have to worry about finding places that they can log on so that they can keep in touch with work, family and friends back home.”

“Working with events like Gen Con is one part of a much larger picture. We have brought together several key organizations in the city to form what is being called the ‘Indy Wi-Fi Initiative’ which we will be announcing at a later date” says Kurkowski. “Using Free Wi-Fi as a means to both attract and retain events like Gen Con is something that has become an accepted instrument for economic development across the nation. We are putting forth our resources and our already established Hotspot Network to be a point of leverage in order to keep Indianapolis competitive in the market place. In the end, it’s all about the attractions and the amenities that a city has to offer.”

To find out more about Gen Con visit: www.gencon.com

To find out more about eWireless visit: www.ewireless.com

To find out more about eWireless Wi-Fi Hotspots visit: www.ewireless.net

To find out more about the Arts Council of Indianapolis & Artsgarden visit: www.indyarts.org

Source: eWireless