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Contact: ERF Wireless Inc. Clareen O'Quinn 281-538-2101 ext. 113 coquinn@erfwireless.com |
LEAGUE CITY, Texas, Mar 26, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ERF Wireless (OTCBB: ERFW), a leading provider of enterprise-class wireless broadband products and services, announced today that its ERF Enterprise Network Services subsidiary has completed and initiated services on a BranchNet encrypted enterprise-class wireless banking network for West Texas State Bank. This high-capacity wireless network connects the West Texas State Bank Operations Center located in Odessa, Texas, with all five of its branch locations in Monahans, Kermit, Midland and Odessa, Texas. The network is comprised of FCC-licensed frequencies creating a 165Mbps backbone, delivering speeds in excess of 40Mbps to each bank location.
"West Texas State Bank is going to be amazed by the speeds generated by this network," said Jay Bilden, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Network Operations for ERF Wireless. "This is now one of our model networks and it empowers West Texas State Bank to not only deploy data-intensive applications, but also voice and video technologies which will bring efficiencies to almost every facet of their business. This network will also accommodate the bank's growing broadband needs for many years to come and will result in a substantial decrease in their network operating costs. Add to all this the ability to generate revenue from their excess bandwidth by teaming with ERF Wireless to offer this excess bandwidth to commercial enterprises in each of their service areas, and it's easy to see that West Texas State Bank will be rewarded for thinking outside of the box and embracing leading-edge technology."
"We knew that it was time to take a serious look at our communications capability," commented Mark Sparks, CEO of West Texas State Bank. "There's a continual introduction of new banking applications that, while improving our ability to provide our customers with real-time services, increases our bandwidth needs exponentially. We didn't want to be in a position of reacting to those escalating requirements."
"We were ready to make a fundamental change that allowed us to focus our energies on superior customer service instead of how we were going to continue to incrementally address our communications needs," continued Sparks. "It was very much in keeping with our basic philosophy of providing the same services to our customers that larger banks are able to provide, while maintaining those qualities that make community banking personable and unique. We were also very impressed with the security features of an ERF Wireless network. We are pleased to say that we now have an extremely secure network that currently surpasses our needs and will allow us to grow with the technology. And, we really like the idea of owning the network. It just makes sense."
R. Greg Smith, CEO of ERF Enterprise Network Services, noted, "We've all been looking forward to getting this network up and running because we knew it was going to be one of our most powerful banking networks to date. This was the first project in which Jay Bilden was involved as our new Senior Vice President of Engineering and Network Operations and he brings a tremendous amount of RF knowledge and construction experience to the company. The use of licensed frequencies and the strength of the backbone are considerably more than what the local telco can offer and will result in a very powerful network for West Texas State Bank."
Dr. H. Dean Cubley, CEO of ERF Wireless, remarked, "West Texas State Bank has been an exciting project for us. The people at the bank were able to grasp early on the power of wireless communications and all the efficiencies it brings to a business environment. They knew that small steps forward in terms of their communications capabilities would always leave them in a position of reacting to bandwidth needs. So I'm very impressed with their vision to proactively move forward with a more permanent solution. Of course, ERF Wireless is also focused on the fact that this network will quickly enable us to expand our footprint in the oil- and gas-rich Permian Basin in support of our Schlumberger contract. This is another significant step forward in our overall business model."
West Texas State Bank currently has more than $245,000,000 in assets and has a service area which covers West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
"Our mission is really very basic," said Robert Wells, Senior Vice President of West Texas State Bank. "Superior customer service is at the center of our decision-making process. This network is one more evolution of that philosophy and we are excited to see what the future holds."
About ERF Enterprise Network Services
ERF Enterprise Network Services is an experienced provider of encrypted wireless networks throughout rural areas of the U.S. The company and its principals have been in the LAN/WAN, network integration, ISP, Internet banking, encryption technology, and banking software businesses for more than 20 years and have constructed secure, encrypted, wireless broadband networks as well as secure Internet banking solutions and other secure data processing systems for hundreds of banks primarily in rural communities across America. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.erfwireless.com/enterprise.htm or call 281-538-2101.
About ERF Wireless
ERF Wireless Inc is a fully reporting public corporation located in League City, Texas, and is the parent company of ERF Oil & Gas Services, ERF Enterprise Network Services, ERF Bundled Wireless Services, ERF Wireless Messaging Services, and ERF Network Services. The company specializes in providing wireless and broadband product and service solutions to enterprise, commercial and residential clients on a regional, national and international basis. Its principals have been in the wireless broadband, network integration, triple-play FTTH, IPTV and content delivery business for more than 40 years. For more information, please visit our websites at www.erfwireless.com and www.erfwireless.net or call 281-538-2101. (ERFWG)
Forward-looking statements in this release regarding ERF Wireless Inc. are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: ERF Wireless Inc.
ERF Wireless Inc.
Clareen O'Quinn, 281-538-2101 ext. 113
coquinn@erfwireless.com
or
Rubenstein Investor Relations
Tim Clemensen, 212-843-9337
TClemensen@RubensteinIR.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009