Kinkos to offer T-Mobile hotspot Wi-Fi

Kinko’s Dallas location is First of 1,100 branches to offer Wi-Fi – CA, NY, NJ next – While Others talk about Wi-Fi locations, T-Mobile keeps adding ‘hotspots’

Long a destination where business gets done, Kinko’s® is becoming the place wired-in businesspeople also work wirelessly. The company’s location on Greenville Avenue in Dallas today became the firstto host T-Mobile HotSpot Wi-Fi service, providing a whole new way of doing business for mobile professionals with a Wi-Fi enabled laptop or handheld.

Earlier today, Jeff Heyman, retail vice president for Kinko’s, and Joe Sims, vice president and general manager of T-Mobile HotSpot, kicked off Kinko’s nationwide deployment of T-Mobile HotSpotwireless broadband Internet service at a “cutting of the Ethernet cord” ceremony at the Greenville Avenue location.

The Dallas event signaled the arrival of Wi-Fi at nearly 170 Kinko’s branches by the end of October. This first phase of installations includes Kinko’s locations in North Texas, Northern and CentralCalifornia, New Jersey, and New York. By the beginning of next year, T-Mobile HotSpot service is expected in hundreds of Kinko’s U.S. locations, including branches in Los Angeles, Chicago, andWashington, DC. More than 1,100 Kinko’s nationwide plan to offer HotSpot access by April 2004.

Kinko’s joins more than 2,800 other active T-Mobile HotSpot locations. The service complements Kinko’s position in the marketplace as the ultimate businessperson’s “office on the road.” No longercaught in a labyrinth of wires and cables that chain them to their office, “windshield warriors” who routinely visit Kinko’s now get wireless Internet access as well as Kinko’s mission-criticalbusiness services such as videoconferencing, copying and printing, fax services, and business stationery.

“Working remotely with the same productivity as in the office is truly a challenge for today’s mobile worker,” said Dan Connors, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Kinko’s.“Starting with our first installation here in Dallas, Kinko’s begins delivering the added convenience of Wi-Fi to this key customer segment. T-Mobile HotSpot subscribers around the country will soonwirelessly access the Internet, send documents for production, connect with their corporate networks or check e-mail – all at Kinko’s.”

According to Joe Sims, vice president and general manager of T-Mobile HotSpot, today’s announcement marks another important milestone for T-Mobile HotSpot. “While others struggle to live up to loftyWi-Fi aspirations, T-Mobile continues to make good on its promise to deliver wireless broadband services in places that we know people already visit as part of their everyday business lives,” Simssaid. “Our internal research shows that 88 percent of T-Mobile HotSpot usage is for business purposes and our partnership with Kinko’s is yet another example that T-Mobile is the clear choice forbusinesspeople.”

T-Mobile HotSpot is the nationwide Wi-Fi service leader, making up the largest commercial network at airports, airline clubs and lounges of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines,Borders Books and Music, Starbucks coffeehouses, and now Kinko’s. The company expects to have approximately 4,000 T-Mobile HotSpot locations by the end of this year.

In keeping with T-Mobile’s Get More® promise to offer the best overall value in wireless, customers can get T-Mobile HotSpot service at rates starting as low as $9.99 for a 24-hour DayPass. ExistingT-Mobile customers can easily add the T-Mobile HotSpot service to their monthly wireless voice and data bill for $19.99 a month for unlimited access.

To use T-Mobile HotSpot service, customers need a Wi-Fi-enabled notebook computer or handheld. They will also need to register for a T-Mobile HotSpot account by visiting www.t-mobile.com/hotspot. T-Mobile offers several pricing plans to meet the needs of customers including pay-as-you-go, DayPass, and annual and month-to-monthsubscriptions for unlimited use.