Santa Monica’s Boingo Wireless, Inc. announced April 25 two roaming agreements that will expand the company’s Boingo Roaming System in different parts of the world. The wireless Internet service comprising hundreds of Wi-Fi (as in: wireless fidelity) network operators is now partnered with SFR, a French mobile phone operator with over 300 hot spots in that country, and with Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan, adding nearly 900 hot spots there. Luis Serrano, Boingo director of network strategy for Europe, praised “SFR’s pioneering combination of 3G and Wi-Fi services,” while his Boingo counterpart for Asia, Allen Pan, said that “Chunghwa is a major player that has invested in building a quality network with plans for continued expansion.” www.boingo.com
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles (JFS) announced that Santa Monica resident David Marks, executive vice president and head of U.S. Corporate Banking for Wells Fargo, has joined the JFS board of directors. JFS has for over 150 years provided social services regardless of age, ethnicity, religion or ability to pay; its current programs counsel families in crisis, support the elderly, house the homeless, feed the hungry, assist the disabled and work with victims of violence. www.jfsla.org
TAG Entertainment Corp., a publicly traded family film company based in Santa Monica, this month reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2005.
Fox Interactive Media, parent of MySpace.com has appointed Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam to oversee safety, education and privacy programs and law enforcement affairs for MySpace. The company describes itself as “the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends and discovering popular culture” on the Internet. Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace, reiterated the company’s commitment to Internet safety and said it “will continue to partner with all stakeholders including parents, educators, law enforcement and safety groups.” Mr. Nigam, whose appointment is effective May 1, 2006, “currently serves as Director of Consumer Security Outreach & Child Safe Computing at the Microsoft Corporation” and has been “a Federal prosecutor against Internet child exploitation for the US Department of Justice, an advisor to a Congressional commission on online child safety, and an advisor to the White House on cyberstalking,” said the company. www.myspace.com
The Donat/Wald advertising agency in Santa Monica announced this month that it has been named Agency of Record for Santa Monica-based Movielink movie download service. The agency, which bills itself as “specializing in ROI-positive advertising” (as in, return on investment), is charged with building Movielink’s brand and driving sales of its new download-to-own service through a nationwide campaign that spans print, radio, television and the Internet. Donat/Wald founding partner and CEO Lucas Donat said that the direct response roots of agency, founded in 1987, helps it provide “a direct correlation between ad spend and actual sales, without sacrificing creativity.” www.donatwald.com
Sendia Corp. of Santa Monica announced April 10 that its “Sendia WorkSpace Locator – powered by Tierravision” product has been named the Grand-Prize Winner and “Business Applications” Category Winner of the 2006 North American NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge. The product provides salesforce.com users “the ability to look up contacts, maps and driving directions from any location, based on their own preferences,” said Alex Klyce, president and chief operating officer of the company, which develops and markets software to extend existing enterprise applications to wireless handheld devices. www.sendia.com
Edmunds.com, Inc., the online resource for automotive information headquartered in Santa Monica with a satellite office in suburban Detroit, on April 17 launched a new product, Interactive Vehicle Tours, which enables users to view brief videos about specific features of selected vehicles, longer videos highlighting road tests, interactive 360-degree interior and exterior images and the company’s evaluations of power, performance and design. Matthew Kumin, General Manager of Edmunds.com Media, said the product “takes full advantage of Web interactivity [and] reflects the future of online video.” In other news, the Edmunds website was ranked number one in online customer experience in a recent survey performed by Keynote Systems, the Internet Performance Authority; and the company announced the hiring of four automotive testing experts: Dan Edmunds, director of automotive testing; Jason Kavanagh, engineering editor; Chris Walton, chief road test editor; and Josh Jacquot, senior road test editor. www.Edmunds.com
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