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"Sprint, SBC Communications Ink Wi-Fi Roaming Pact"
"OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Sprint and SBC Communications Inc. today announced a reciprocal Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Internet service roaming agreement that will provide their customers access to each other's public Wi-Fi networks.Under the agreement, customers will be able to roam on the Wi-Fi networks of each company using their existing user IDs and passwords. Service charges will be billed according to the customers' current billing agreements, officials said.Sprint-owned Wi-Fi locations include the Kansas City, Salt Lake City and Louisville International airports; the Addison, Tex., convention center; and the Tysons Corner, Va. shopping center. The SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi network encompasses more than 2,300 hot spots nationwide including airports, hotels, coffee shops and The UPS Store and MailBoxes Etc. locations, officials said.This is the second major service provider roaming contract signed by Sprint, which earlier reached agreement with AT&T Wireless regarding reciprocal airport property Wi-Fi access, reported Wes Dittmer, general manager, WLAN Services, Sprint. "Customers desiring consistent service and the convenience of a single account will reap the productivity benefits of Sprint PCS Wi-Fi Access at additional locations," Dittmer explained. "Wi-Fi is an integral part of Sprint's remote-access strategy."Sprint will make at least 10,000 hot spots available to its customers by year-end, Dittmer said. "Sprint customers will benefit from access to one of the nation's largest Wi-Fi networks with SBC FreedomLink, driving increased usage to our network and enhancing revenue opportunities for SBC," added Dennis Whiteside, assistant vice president, SBC Wi-Fi implementation.Sprint is focusing on providing Wi-Fi services in high-traffic areas such as airports, hotels, convention centers and other public venues where customers tend to need it most and can derive the greatest benefit, Dittmer noted. The company has over 2,600 Wi-Fi hot spots where Sprint PCS Wi-Fi Access service is currently available chiefly through roaming agreements in effect across the United States and Canada with a number of industry players, including AT&T Wireless, AirPath, WayPort, STSN and TruckStop.net, and the company also is pursuing other Wi-Fi opportunities beyond today's announcement, representing a variety, he added.SBC companies plan to make available more than 20,000 Wi-Fi hot spots to FreedomLink customers by the end of 2006 and work with Cingular Wireless to use Wi-Fi and Cingular's wireless network, Whiteside said.Sprint is an integrated communications provider serving more than 26 million customers in over 100 countries, officials said. SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers, officials reported.Visit Sprint: www.sprint.comVisit SBC Communications Inc.: www.sbc.com"