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Avis and SBC Communications Announce Plans for First Wi-Fi Service to Be Available at Car Rental Locations Nationwide.


SAN ANTONIO San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837.  & PARISIPPANY, N.J. -- SBC (1) (SBC Communications Inc., San Antonio, TX, www.sbc.com) A large, national telecommunications company that grew from a multitude of local and regional companies, including Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, into a single, unified brand by 2002.  Communications Inc. (NYSE NYSE

See: New York Stock Exchange
:SBC) and Avis Rent A Car System Avis Rent A Car System, LLC is a car rental company headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey USA. Avis, Budget Rent a Car and Budget Truck Rental are all units of Avis Budget Group. , Inc.:
Mobile Professionals Will Benefit from Public Wi-Fi Internet Access
           in Avis Business Centers at Nation's Top Airports

         Avis Becomes First Leading Car Rental Company to Make
                  Wi-Fi Access Available to Travelers



SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) and Avis Rent A Car System, Inc. today announced that the SBC FreedomLink Wi-Fi service will be made available in up to 88 Avis locations at major airports throughout the nation by early 2005. The SBC Wi-Fi service will be available in Avis business centers, providing added convenience and increased productivity for millions of travelers.

The SBC Wi-Fi network See wireless Ethernet and 802.11.  is one of the nation's largest Wi-Fi networks with the service available in more than 5,000 hot spots hot spots

acute moist dermatitis.
, growing to an estimated 20,000 by the end of 2006. The service enables mobile professionals to use laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) to wirelessly connect to the Internet and corporate networks at speeds 50 to 100 times as fast as a dial-up connection. Avis locations are ideally suited for Wi-Fi connectivity, providing added convenience for millions of mobile professionals to conduct business and stay connected between their flights and the road.

The companies expect FreedomLink service to be available in select Avis airport locations by the end of the year, with all 88 locations completed in early 2005. FreedomLink service will be the newest addition to Avis business centers in major airports. Avis business centers provide a quiet place for mobile professionals to conduct business with complimentary telephone, fax and copy services Copy services is a term used in IBM storage systems, to describe a group of services that provide a method of copying or moving data from one location to another.

Generally a source and target logical disk are required. Data is copied or moved form the source to the target.
, enabling them to increase productivity and efficiency while away from the workplace.

"This agreement will make FreedomLink service more widely available, providing greater value to travelers, especially mobile professionals, who rely on Wi-Fi to stay productive and connected while on the road," said Scott Helbing, senior vice president, SBC consumer marketing. "We continue to expand the SBC Wi-Fi network, making service available in a wide variety of locations to meet consumer demand for wireless high-speed Internet See broadband.  connectivity."

"For travelers needing quick information on their way to a destination, or before boarding a plane, this Wi-Fi capability at our airport locations will be a very attractive amenity a·men·i·ty  
n. pl. a·men·i·ties
1. The quality of being pleasant or attractive; agreeableness.

2. Something that contributes to physical or material comfort.

3.
," said Mike Caron, vice president of product development for Cendant Car Rental Group, parent company of Avis. "The FreedomLink service is a natural extension of our mission to help take the stress out of travel, particularly for our many commercial customers."

FreedomLink memberships are available for $19.95 a month and provide unlimited access to all SBC Wi-Fi hot spots and discounted rates in roaming The ability to use a communications device such as a cellphone or PDA and be able to move from one cell or access point to another without losing the connection.  locations. Avis customers who want walk-up access can purchase a day membership for $7.95 and receive unlimited access to SBC Wi-Fi hot spots for a 24-hour session. SBC DSL DSL
 in full Digital Subscriber Line

Broadband digital communications connection that operates over standard copper telephone wires. It requires a DSL modem, which splits transmissions into two frequency bands: the lower frequencies for voice (ordinary
 customers are able to use the service at no charge until April 15, 2005. After this introductory period, the price will be $1.99 a month with a one-year term commitment for customers who choose to sign up for the service. FreedomLink customers can use Wi-Fi service in select McDonald's restaurants There are more than 30,000 McDonald's restaurants in 119 countries. Restaurants
The first McDonald's was not a restaurant at all, but it was a sit-in stand. The company's early franchises were built to a standard pattern that did not offer seating; this was in part to prevent
, The UPS Store(TM) and Mail Boxes Etc. locations, Caribou Coffee Caribou Coffee is a specialty coffee retailer, the second largest in the U.S.[2] Caribou concentrates on selling gourmet coffees, teas, and bakery goods in over 464 coffeehouses in 18 states.  shops, airports, hotels, convention centers, restaurants, state parks, rest stops and welcome centers.

Customers can view a list of FreedomLink locations and obtain ordering information by visiting www.sbc.com/freedomlink. A listing of all Avis locations featuring FreedomLink service will be available on www.Avis.com in early December.

The SBC Wi-Fi service is part of an integrated effort to meet customer demand for a comparable broadband experience in the home, office or on the road. SBC Internet Services has sold more than a million wireless home gateways to DSL customers who wished to establish a wireless home network, and SBC companies are working with Cingular Wireless to utilize Wi-Fi and the Cingular third-generation (3G) network to deliver unprecedented high-speed wireless Internet access See how to access the Internet. .

FreedomLink(SM) public wireless high-speed Internet access is provided by SBC Internet Services. SBC, the SBC logo, FreedomLink, the FreedomLink logo, and other product names are trademarks of SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. All other brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. (C) 2004 SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. All rights reserved. SBC Yahoo! DSL is an information service that combines DSL transport, Internet access and applications from SBC Internet Services, with customized content, services, and applications from Yahoo! Inc.

FreedomLink Promotion: Connections available at FreedomLink Hot Spots only. Roaming locations are not available, except select McDonald's restaurants. An 802.11 b/g enabled device is required for Wi-Fi access. Offer will expire on April 15, 2005. Promotion and any session may not be extended beyond the previously stated time. Users must register and receive a SBC Yahoo! DSL User ID and Password before signing onto the FreedomLink network. Also, before starting a session, users must review the Terms & Conditions and indicate their acceptance by clicking on the 'I Accept' button. Connections will be limited to the Master Account for SBC Yahoo! DSL subscribers. Subject to change without notice. Service is not available in all areas.

$19.95 monthly pricing requires one-year term commitment. $100 early termination fee termination fee

The one-time charge for terminating or transferring an individual retirement account. If a financial institution charges a termination fee, the fee must be spelled out in the original agreement that is signed when the account is opened.
 applies. Users must pay all service and usage charges incurred prior to termination. At the end of term commitment, service will continue on a monthly basis at current rates. Roaming available at participating locations. For Basic Membership customers, roaming surcharges apply. In addition to FreedomLink Terms and Conditions, acceptance of Membership Agreement is required. All charges will be billed to your credit card.

About SBC

SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 46 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation's leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also now offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.

About Avis

Avis Rent A Car System, Inc. and its subsidiaries operate the world's second largest general-use car rental brand, providing business and leisure customers with a wide range of services at nearly 1,800 locations in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Canada, Australia, New Zealand New Zealand (zē`lənd), island country (2005 est. pop. 4,035,000), 104,454 sq mi (270,534 sq km), in the S Pacific Ocean, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) SE of Australia. The capital is Wellington; the largest city and leading port is Auckland.  and the Latin American / Caribbean region. Avis is one of the world's top brands for customer loyalty, ranking as the number one rental car brand in the 2004 Brand Keys(R) Customer Loyalty Index, and tying for the highest ranking in the 2003 J.D. Power & Associates rental car customer satisfaction study. The company is part of Cendant Car Rental Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD), a diversified global provider of business and consumer services Consumer Services refers to the formulation, deformulation, technical consulting and testing of most consumer products, such as food, herbs, beverages, vitamins, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, hair products, household cleaners, [paints, plastics, metals, waxes, coatings, minerals,  primarily within the real estate and travel sectors. For more information visit www.avis.com or www.cendant.com/media.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2004, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Business Wire
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Nov 23, 2004
Words:1178
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