City of Ellaville Receives Technology Award; High-Speed Wireless Internet Project Installed by Tri-State Broadband Wins Attention of Technology Leadership Coalition.

Business Editors

ELLAVILLE, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 2003

The Technology Leader Coalition last week awarded the City of Ellaville its distinctive award for an innovative public project by a local government body in Georgia.

The recipients are selected by executives from technology companies and related organizations throughout the State of Georgia.

Mike Levin, Director of the Technology Leadership Coalition and Executive Director of the AeA (American Electronics Association) said, "This was the first year that the Coalition recognized governmental entity's efforts to help spread technology throughout the state. The award signifies innovation and the City of Ellaville greatly deserves the recognition with its deployment of Epride.net, a wireless high-speed Internet service for local businesses and residents. We are happy to make this award to them."

"The City viewed broadband access as a critical need for attracting new businesses and retaining our existing ones," stated Doug Redmond, City Manager of Ellaville. "We also felt that the new technology was a means to drive additional revenue for the City, and we were correct on both points. Having high-speed Internet access has changed the world for Ellaville. The days of slow speeds, aggravating busy signals, and dropped connections are a thing of the past. We now have the ability to control our own destiny."

Mayor Hughes Palmer agreed, "We made the right decision last year to install the new wireless broadband system and we are very pleased that our actions have gained the attention of the technology industry. We appreciate their recognition."

Epride.net was installed for the City of Ellaville in July, 2002, by Tri-State Broadband, Inc., a fiber optic and wireless broadband company based in Roswell, Georgia. The installation featured wireless "Non-Line-of-Sight" technology and was the first such installation in the State. The City now has over 120 active small business and residential customers.

"The City of Ellaville and Tri-State Broadband, Inc. will always be remembered as being the first recipient and setting the bar for the future," noted Levin. "We wish them continued success."

About American Electronic Association (www.aeanet.org)

Advancing the business of technology, AeA is the nation's largest high-tech trade association. AeA represents more than 3,000 companies with 1.8 million employees. These 3000+ companies span the high-technology spectrum, from software, semiconductors, medical devices and computers to Internet technology, advanced electronics and telecommunications systems and services. With 17 regional U.S. councils and offices in Brussels and Beijing, AeA offers a unique global policy grassroots capability and a wide portfolio of valuable business services and products for the high-tech industry. AeA has been the accepted voice of the U.S. technology community since 1943.

About Tri-State Broadband, Inc. (www.trisbb.com)

Tri-State Broadband was founded with the expressed purpose of introducing affordable high-speed broadband access (primarily wireless) and related services to small and medium-sized cities in the Southeast. With broadband services, Tri-State provides cities the ability to attract new businesses and to derive new sources of revenue and cash flow - all while meeting individual needs of local residents and businesses.