VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- GPS Industries, Inc. (GPSI), the only provider of Wi-Fi powered, advertising enhanced GPS systems for golf facilities, resorts and residential communities, today announced that its WiStream business initiative, which debuted at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando in January, has landed a comprehensive community-wide contract in a period of only weeks. Under the terms of the minimum $2-million contract with a development consortium led by Dubai World, GPS Industries has been chosen to integrate a WiFi network and comprehensive wireless amenities package for one of the most striking and ambitious golf-community developments in the world, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Even while still in the development stages, Jumeirah Golf Estates is recognized as one of the world’s most prestigious golfing communities. It will offer luxury homes surrounded by four of the world's most artfully crafted golf courses. The 375 hectare (927acre) first phase encompasses 13 residential communities with more than one-thousand homes, is part of the development portfolio of Leisurecorp LLC, a subsidiary of Istithmar. It is being designed and developed in collaboration with golf legend Greg Norman, ultimately under the auspices of UAE government-owned Dubai World.
Throughout the Jumeirah communities, GPSI’s WiStream technology will deliver advanced smart-home amenities allowing, for example, each home’s built-in entertainment system to enjoy wireless video on-demand and pay-per-view services. A unique locator system will enable staff and residents to track equipment and personnel via discrete WiFi enabled GPS tags. Each home in the community will be protected by an intelligent surveillance monitoring system and will enjoy wireless access to a range of e-commerce amenities via touch-screen Inforemer consoles. These consoles will allow residents to remotely order delivery of goods and services with unprecedented convenience.
At the heart of the Estates will be four truly world-class courses designed by some of the biggest names in golf: Greg Norman, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, and Pete Dye. Every golf cart in the Jumeirah Estates fleet will feature GPSI’s award-winning 10.4 Inforemer-HD™ LCD panels, which vividly depict each hole and provide precise distance measurement plus playing tips for an enhanced golf experience.
This project is neither the first nor the only connection among GPSI, Leisurecorp, and GPSI Advisory Board Member Greg Norman. On December 16, 2006, the Company announced the completion of an investment agreement with Leisurecorp LLC and Greg Norman’s Great White Shark Enterprises (GWSE). Under the terms of that agreement, GWSE and Leisurecorp invested $15.7 million aggregate in GPSI and also received the right to invest an additional $13.0 million in the Company by April 27, 2007.
David Spencer, Chief Executive of Jumeirah Golf Estates, said: “Jumeirah Golf Estates seeks to set new standards in every area of the development, whether that be the challenge of the golf courses, the beauty of the communities, or the state-of-the-art capabilities offered by our technology. GPSI’s services will mean technology becomes a real enabler for all our community homeowners, golfers and non-golfers alike. Importantly, it gives us ‘future-proof’ options which means the capabilities will grow as the technology develops.”
