SmartSynch and Burbank Water and Power Deploy World's First Wi-Fi-Enabled SmartMeters.

Deployment to Demonstrate Municipal Wi-Fi Networks' Ability to Support Diverse Applications and Deliver Significant Return on Investment

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Because electricity reserve margins are diminishing and transmission grids are reaching their maximum load capacity, Burbank Water and Power (BWP) - in collaboration with SmartSynch - has begun deploying the world's first Wi-Fi-enabled SmartMeters, which will operate on a new municipal Wi-Fi network deployed by BWP. The utility serves 45,000 households and 6,000 businesses in Burbank, Calif., with water and electricity. Once fully deployed, the municipal Wi-Fi network will cover the entire city and SmartSynch's Wi-Fi-enabled SmartMeters will monitor BWP's entire energy load.

Traditionally, BWP received electricity usage information from meters once a month. If electricity demand exceeded the supply, BWP would buy expensive power on the open market or conduct voluntary reductions.

To overcome this problem, BWP has begun deploying SmartSynch's Wi-Fi-enabled SmartMeters, which significantly improve energy efficiency and generation margins and reduce impact on the environment and expenses by:

* Providing two-way communications - Requesting and receiving real-time energy usage information from SmartMeters enables the resolution of energy supply issues, significantly reducing expenses;

* Automating processes - Distributing, collecting and organizing detailed energy usage data from SmartMeters over municipal Wi-Fi networks provides a greater return on investment than manual meter-reading;

* Empowering customers - Giving customers a means to make informed decisions about their use of electricity helps reduce their impact on the environment, maintain generation margins for improved reliability and reduce the cost of energy.

To support SmartSynch's Wi-Fi-enabled SmartMeters, BWP is deploying a standards-based municipal Wi-Fi network. In contrast to proprietary networks, which some utilities have deployed, standards-based Wi-Fi networks are interoperable and deliver the robust bandwidth required to support the real-time delivery of energy usage data between Wi-Fi-enabled SmartMeters and utilities.

"SmartSynch promptly responded to my inquiries, understood the deployment requirements and provided me with a detailed proposal that helped me exceed my deployment goals," said BWP Assistant General Manager Fred Fletcher. "I've been very impressed by the resources provided by SmartSynch and the functionality of its Wi-Fi-enabled SmartMeters."

"We are excited to be collaborating with Burbank Water and Power on this landmark deployment, which will once-and-for-all prove that municipal Wi-Fi networks can support various applications beyond merely providing cafe Internet access," said Stephen Johnston, president and chief executive officer of SmartSynch. "Our innovations in utilizing public wireless networks to transmit energy usage data have simplified SmartMeter deployments for utilities and delivered a significantly greater return on investment. We look forward to replicating this success in the municipal Wi-Fi market."

About SmartSynch

Headquartered in Jackson, Miss., SmartSynch is the leading provider of wireless smart meters. SmartSynch's core product, the SmartMeter[TM] System, facilitates real-time acquisition of critical usage and rate data from electricity meters via public wireless networks and the Internet. During the past six years, SmartSynch has deployed more smart meters with embedded public wireless communications than all other companies in North America combined (serving 70+ major utilities and distribution companies). For more information, contact SmartSynch Media Relations at 601-209-1315, or visit www.smartsynch.com.