By: flashmem $$$$$
30 Oct 2002, 02:22 PM EST Msg. 1067646 of 1067673
(REUTERS) T-Mobile partners with airlines in Internet deal
T-Mobile partners with airlines in Internet deal
BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct 30 (Reuters) - T-Mobile USA Inc., the
6th-largest U.S. wireless telephone company, on Wednesday said
it has hooked up with the three biggest U.S. airlines to offer
high-speed, wireless Internet access in their clubs and lounges
across the country.
In a bid to reach busy business travelers, T-Mobile, a unit
of Deutsche Telekom AG , said customers of AMR
Corp.'s American Airlines, UAL Corp.'s United
Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc. will soon be able to
access the Internet, their e-mail and other applications at
speeds 40 to 50 times faster than standard dial-up connections.
The company said it will be adding the service, called
HotSpot, to about 100 of the airlines' clubs and lounges over
the next year. The service will be accessible via laptops or
personal digital assistants equipped with a wireless access
card.
T-Mobile is offering several price plans for HotSpot. An
unlimited national plan costs $49.99 a month and an unlimited
local plan costs $29.99 a month. Customers can also pay $20 for
120 nationwide minutes or $50 for 300 minutes. In addition,
one-time customers can pay $2.99 for the first 15 minutes and
25 cents a minute thereafter.
It said coverage may be extended to airline gates as it
gets airport approval.
T-Mobile has been aggressive in signing up service deals
based on the technology called Wi-Fi, which lets users
wirelessly tap into a physical high-speed Internet connection.
The company already has 1,800 HotSpot locations in
Starbucks coffee shops and some U.S. airports. It
plans to offer the service in 2,000 locations by the end of the
year.
It also plans to install HotSpots in 400 Borders
bookstores next year.
((--Yukari Iwatani, Chicago Equities News at 312 408 8787,
chicago.equities.newsroom@reuters.com))
REUTERS
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