AIRTOUCH CELLULAR SERVICE AND EQUIPMENT NOW AVAILABLE AT CAR TOYS.BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 1996--AirTouch Cellular today announced that CAR TOYS will begin selling AirTouch Cellular equipment and service at CAR TOYS locations throughout Washington and Oregon. The agreement becomes effective Sept. 16. CAR TOYS is one of the largest retail cellular outlets in the Northwest with nine Washington locations in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Federal Way, Lynnwood, Olympia, Tacoma and Southcenter. It also has four Oregon stores - three in Portland and one in Salem - with plans to open a Clackamas location in November. "A basic CAR TOYS philosophy is to offer our customers quality products backed by knowledgeable service personnel," said Dan Brettler, CAR TOYS president. "We were pleased to discover that AirTouch Cellular approaches business the same way. Together, CAR TOYS and AirTouch Cellular are committed to providing customers with the best cellular equipment and service available today." The use of outlets such as CAR TOYS is indicative of the rapid growth of cellular and its changing customer demographics. Figures from the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association See TIA. (body, standard) Telecommunications Industry Association - (TIA) An association that sets standards for communications cabling. Cables that TIA set standards for include: EIA/TIA-568A and EIA/TIA-568B category three, four and five cable. indicate that the cellular industry grew by more than 40 percent in 1995, bringing the total number of cellular users to more than 33 million nationwide. General consumers, as opposed to business users, now make up 50 percent of all cellular customers and represent one of the fastest-growing buying segments for new cellular service. "We've learned through our research that customers want to buy cellular phones and service where it's convenient for them, and where they know they'll receive a good value for their dollar," said Bill Bettencourt, area general manager for AirTouch Cellular in Washington. "Offering AirTouch Cellular service and equipment through CAR TOYS provides customers added convenience and a new way to experience the time-saving benefits of cellular phones." The retail strategy also allows AirTouch Cellular to team with local businesses to market and distribute cellular products. "Outlets such as CAR TOYS are based in the communities we serve," said Joe Dodson, AirTouch Cellular area general manager in Oregon. "Others are locally-owned franchises of national retailers. Either way, these retail channels contribute to the economic health of the local community." In addition to CAR TOYS, AirTouch Cellular equipment and service is available through national outlets such as Costco, Radio Shack See RadioShack. , Sears and Incredible Universe. Local Washington outlets include Tall's Camera and QFC QFC Quality Food Centers QFC Queueing Flow Control QFC Quality Feedback Card QFC Quality Fulfillment Committee (PostEurop) QFC Quantum Flow Control . In Oregon, local outlets include Activate, Smart Wireless and Car Stereo City. AirTouch Cellular is a division of AirTouch NewVector Group Inc. Based in Bellevue, NewVector has cellular operations in 13 midwestern, western and southwestern states and serves more than 1.7 million customers. The company operates 25 Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA (Metropolitan Service Area) An urban area with at least 50,000 people plus surrounding counties. There are 306 MSAs and 428 RSAs (rural service areas) in the U.S. MSAs and RSAs are used to allocate cellular licenses. ) and 24 Rural Service Area (RSA (1) (Rural Service Area) See MSA. (2) (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) A highly secure cryptography method by RSA Security, Inc., Bedford, MA (www.rsa.com), a division of EMC Corporation since 2006. It uses a two-part key. ) cellular systems under the brand name of AirTouch Cellular. NewVector is a part of the U S WEST Media Group (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :UMG UMG Universal Music Group UMG Universidad Mariano Gálvez de Guatemala (Mariano Galvez University of Guatemala) UMG Upgraded Metallurgical Grade (silicon) UMG Unlicensed Medical Graduate ) which is involved in domestic and international cable and telephony, wireless communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. , and directory information services See Information Systems. . CONTACT: AirTouch Cellular Bruce Amundson, 206/603-7427 |
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