CASH INJECTION PUTS NOMAD ON TRACK FOR GROWTH TECHNOLOGY company Nomad has raised £8m of investment to fund the roll out of its revolutionary wireless broadband connection for trains. The UK company, which has already partnered T-Mobile to provide broadband to train operator Southern on its London to Brighton line, is now poised to exploit global markets. It will use its cash injection to open UK offices in Newcastle and London, supplement its technical team and take on sales and marketing staff to support its accelerated drive for growth. The company is working to expand the availability of broadband internet access for passengers on Southern's network and is introducing the system into the US and European markets. It is also exploring further deals in China, India and the Middle East. The potential market is huge, with 141,000 trains worldwide, transporting 25.6 billion people over 10.5 billion kilometres annually. Nomad's system works by connecting the train to wireless base stations along the track. This means the train runs along a corridor of wireless coverage, allowing information to be sent and received at speeds 25 times faster than domestic broadband internet access. The system is unique in that it provides continuous high speed coverage, even through tunnels and on underground sections of track. The high bandwidth allows innovative applications such as real time CCTV to be implemented. Passengers can surf the net, send and receive e-mails, and transfer large files quickly, while operators can monitor the performance of their trains, install real time security CCTV and locate all their fleet at any one time. Under the terms of the funding deal, Amadeus Capital Partners Limited and T-Mobile Venture Fund have invested in Nomad Holdings, the new parent company of service arm Nomad Digital and hardware arm Nomad Spectrum. Co-founders of Nomad Graeme Lowdon (Group Chief Executive) and Nigel Wallbridge (Group Executive Chairman) retain the senior executive positions in the group. Graeme Lowdon said: ``This investment marks a major watershed for Nomad. For the past three years we have been developing and refining the system, and we have proved it commercially on Southern's network. We now have installations in the UK, Holland and North America. ` `With this investment we can now exploit the huge, worldwide opportunities that exist for this system. Its potential applications include an enhanced travelling experience for passengers, a revolution in railway signalling and traffic control, and as a powerful security tool on rail transport networks.'' The company's business model is to acquire broadband franchise concessions from train operating companies and to sell rights to use the network to service providers for particular applications. "The railway industry worldwide offers huge potential for the kind of specialty mobility networks that Nomad has developed" said Nigel Wallbridge, co-founder and Chairman of Nomad Digital, "Both railway passengers and rail companies want to have broadband connected services to their trains, and that is what Nomad gives them". Amadeus director Roy Merritt also joins the Nomad board. He said: `` Passenger travel is a big, global business and, as internet connectivity becomes prevalent everywhere, Nomad's technology for providing reliable connectivity on board trains addresses a potentially huge market. The company is currently working on opportunities in three continents and we have every confidence it will develop into a very successful international business.'' ``Nomad's solution offers a compelling extension of T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Hotspot network as well as a complement to T-Mobile's GPRS and 3G services,'' said Lars Michaelsen, investment manager T-Mobile Venture Fund. ``Demand from business users for secure e-mail access on the move is growing. T-Mobile is able to offer this by maintaining a constant data session for the entire journey. ``We invest in Nomad as we believe in the potential of WiFi on trains for business users as well as for consumer applications.'' Ends About Nomad (www.nomadrail.com) Nomad is a network independent data services provider focused on the rail industry About Amadeus (www.amadeuscapital.com) Amadeus is one of Europe's leading technology investors. Since its inception in 1997, the firm has backed over 50 companies covering computer hardware and software, mobile and fixed communications technologies and medical technologies. Investments include Cambridge Silicon Radio, producing single chip bluetooth radios for short range connections and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2004, Optos, a manufacturer of laser retinal scanners which this year had a successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange, Cambridge Broadband, developing technologies for wireless broadband networks in countries with poor infrastructure and Valista, an electronic payments company. About T-Mobile Venture Fund (www.t-venture.com) The T-Mobile Venture Fund was established in 2001 and is managed by T-Venture, the venture capital entity of Deutsche Telekom. The activities of the T-Mobile Venture Fund (Euro 100 Million) provide T-Mobile with an innovative edge and strong commercial synergies. T-Mobile International is one of Deutsche Telekom's strategic business units. It is one of the top providers of mobile communication solutions.