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EMBARQ Partners With City of Hood River to Launch Wi-Fi TrialHOOD RIVER, Ore., May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Named the "windsurfing capital of the world," Hood River will now be able to do another type of surfing -- Web surfing powered by broadband Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology provided by EMBARQ. City employees, residents, visitors and public safety officials, in certain areas of the city, will have access to the latest in wireless mobile broadband technology. This service is free of charge during EMBARQ Corporation's 90-day trial of a new Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) broadband network. The new EMBARQ Wi-Fi network allows Hood River residents, in areas where the network has been deployed, to email, and browse and download from the Internet at high speeds comparable to DSL. It provides EMBARQ with a market in which to measure user experience and acceptance of the technology. "This trial is a continuation of EMBARQ's commitment to provide municipalities with new and innovative customized wireless data solutions," said Kenny Wyatt, the company's vice president of marketing and product management for business. "Municipal interest in Wi-Fi is high because it indicates a technologically progressive community. Public, private partnerships such as this strengthen the community as a whole by providing a new avenue for fast, reliable communication services." Hood River will now share in the benefits of Wi-Fi technology that other communities have already experienced. In other areas, Wi-Fi technology has been responsible for saving man hours in public safety departments by allowing employees to access local records, search databases in other cities and send out Amber Alerts more quickly. "This is a terrific tool for municipalities," said Bob Francis, Hood River City Manager. "We can access critical information faster across a common network and share information not assessable by phone." A trial of the service is currently underway in areas that include city hall, local parks, the port area and downtown. The launch of the trial will be celebrated June 2, with EMBARQ and Hood River civic leaders in Georgianna Smith Memorial Park. About EMBARQ EMBARQ provides a suite of communications services to customers in its local service territories. EMBARQ, which is expected to rank among the Fortune 500, brings common-sense ideas, reliable service and a renewed commitment to the communities it serves. EMBARQ focuses on offering its customers practical, innovative products and competitive pricing. The company has approximately 20,000 employees and operates in 18 states offering local and long distance voice, data, high speed internet, wireless, and entertainment services. For more information, visit http://www.embarq.com/ . Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060516/EMBARQLOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, [email protected] EMBARQ Corporation CONTACT: Mary Gumm, +1-541-387-9234, or [email protected] , orVicki Soares, +1-702-244-3621, or [email protected] , both of EMBARQCorporation Web site: http://www.embarq.com/ |