Sprint, Kansas City Aviation and Ultra Electronics Kick Off Availability of High Speed Access

December 2, 2003
Computers/Electronics News - Silicon Valley, CA

Sprint, Kansas City Aviation, and Ultra Electronics Kick Off Availability of
High-Speed Wi-Fi Access for Air Travelers

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Passengers flying through
Kansas City now have a more productive way to spend time at the airport.
Today, Sprint (NYSE: FON, PCS) and the Kansas City Aviation Department
announced the availability of PCS Wi-Fi Access(SM) at Kansas City
International Airport (KCI) as part of a $258 million Terminal Improvement
Project.  The high-speed wireless technology will enable busy travelers to
conduct business that would normally happen back at the office. Travelers at
KCI can now enjoy the convenience and productivity benefits of PCS Wi-Fi
Access in all airport passenger areas - at speeds up to 100 times faster
than
standard dialup. Sprint is managing the Wi-Fi service at Kansas City
International Airport under contract to Ultra Electronics Airport Systems,
Inc. (the KCI system integrator).
    
"Following on the heels of our PCS Wi-Fi Access launch in September, we
are really excited that our first public Wi-Fi solution in a major airport
is
in Sprint's backyard at the Kansas City International Airport," said Phil
Bowman, vice president, business marketing for the PCS Division of Sprint.
"Now, business travelers and passengers at KCI can make the most of their
airport time with a simple and easy way to wirelessly access important
information at multi-megabit speeds so they can be productive while away
from
their office or home.  We want to give customers the choice of using PCS
Vision(SM) data services to stay connected while mobile via the enhanced
Sprint Nationwide PCS Network, or PCS Wi-Fi Access when they are in key
public
venues for longer periods of time and need higher data speeds."

PCS Wi-Fi Access is a high-speed wireless data service from Sprint that
uses 802.11b technology to enable mobile professionals to replicate their
desktop environment and get remote access to the Internet, e-mail and
corporate applications on their mobile devices while away from the office.
Sprint is focused 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.

As one of the Midwest's largest air facilities, Kansas City International
serves more than 10 million air travelers annually. The airport has been
implementing a series of innovative changes and improvements over the past
three years, and PCS Wi-Fi Access from Sprint is the latest technology
upgrade
now available throughout the airport's three passenger terminals.

"The new Wi-Fi network is just one of several applications that are
supported by one of the most advanced airport networks in the country," said
Phil Brown, acting director for the Kansas City Aviation Department. The KCI
network architecture will support the airport's electronic communications
networks for years to come. The new http://www.flykci.com KCI website and
real-time
airline flight information displays in the airport concourses are two other
programs made possible by the new system."

The new high-speed wireless service will allow KCI travelers to conduct
business in the public areas throughout the facility. Customers will need a
Wi-Fi Internet card or mobile device embedded with Wi-Fi technology in order
to take advantage of the service. Users are greeted by the KCI portal page
that provides a host of free information, including real-time flight
information from the new KCI web site, http://www.flykci.com. While not
required to
use PCS Wi-Fi Access at KCI, PCS Connection Manager(SM) Software with Wi-Fi
enables laptop users to manage the service in hundreds of other Sprint
compatible public Wi-Fi ZONES in a consistent manner. To subscribe to the
service, and to download the software, Sprint as well as non-Sprint
customers
can visit http://www.wifi.sprintpcs.com.  The software includes the ability
to detect
Wi-Fi in public venues compatible with Sprint service, as well as a
directory
of all compatible PCS Wi-Fi Access locations, and is automatically updated
as
new locations are added.

PCS Wi-Fi Access at KCI is available today at an introductory price of
$6.95 per connection, for 24 hours of unlimited access. Customers can get
information about the service by calling 1-866-PCS-WIFI (727-9434) from any
phone or pressing #-W-I-F-I (#9434) from their PCS Phone. Currently,
customers
must pay for the service using a valid credit card, which is entered during
the initial one-time setup of their account. Sprint plans to integrate
billing
in early 2004 so PCS customers can choose to have charges applied to their
wireless statement. For complete information on PCS Wi-Fi Access, PCS
Connection Manager Software, tutorials and troubleshooting information, and
an
online list of compatible locations, visit http://www.sprint.com/pcsbusiness
and
click on 'PCS Wi-Fi Access.'

Sprint expects PCS Wi-Fi Access to be available in more than 2,100
locations by early 2004 through a combination of Wi-Fi ZONES(TM) built and
managed by Sprint such as KCI, and roaming agreements with newly announced
Wi-Fi service provider Concourse, as well as Airpath Wireless, Cometa
Networks
and Wayport.

Sprint is a global integrated communications provider serving more than
26 million customers in over 100 countries.  With approximately 68,000
employees worldwide and nearly $27 billion in annual revenues, Sprint is
widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art
network technologies, including the United States' first nationwide all-
digital, fiber-optic network and an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone.
Sprint provides local communications services in 39 states and the District
of
Columbia and operates the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS
wireless
network in the United States. For more information, visit
http://www.sprint.com.
    
"Wi-Fi ZONE," "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED," "Wi-Fi Alliance," "Wi-Fi Protected
Access" and their respective logos are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi
Alliance. To learn more, visit http://www.wi-fi.org .

The Kansas City Airport System is an enterprise fund department of the
City of Kansas City, Missouri, and is supported wholly by airport user
charges.  No general tax fund revenues are used for the administration,
promotion, operation or maintenance of the airports in the system.

Ultra Electronics Airport Systems is the MUFIDS/ System Integrator
contractor at Kansas City International Airport. This contract involves the
design and implementation of the Terminal wide Multi User Flight Information
Display Systems (MUFIDS) and the integration of airport operational systems
-
consolidating data in a central database known as the Airport Operational
Database (AODB).  Ultra Electronics Airport Systems (formally Ferranti Air
Systems) has a 35  plus year association with the aviation computing and
information technology sector and has a reputation as one of the world's
leading suppliers of airport and airline IT systems and services. The
company
is a global provider with list of reference sites that includes more than 70
operational airport and airline systems around the world. For more
information, visit http://www.ultra-as.com .



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