Goal to Sign Up 1 Million New Users and Support a Solution for Recovering
Abducted Children
FORT WORTH, Texas and ATLANTA, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) and Cingular Wireless today announce a
nationwide campaign to sign up 1 million new Wireless AMBER Alerts(TM)
subscribers in 2006. As the leading retailer of wireless handsets and
services, RadioShack and its more than 35,000 sales associates in nearly 5,000
neighborhood locations will help customers sign up from RadioShack's in-store
Internet Centers or directly from their wireless handsets.
The nationwide Wireless AMBER Alerts Subscription Drive kicks off today in
New York City with an event hosted by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, co-host of ABC's
The View, along with Ernie Allen, president and chief executive officer of the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC). The two are
teaming up to urge the public to visit any RadioShack store for assistance in
signing up to receive the free Wireless AMBER Alerts on their wireless
handsets.
"Hundreds of children have been recovered through the AMBER Alert Plan,
and the ability to ultimately deliver these Alerts directly to the phones of
nearly 200 million wireless subscribers can dramatically increase the reach of
the program," said David Edmondson, RadioShack's president and chief executive
officer. "We're proud to pledge our support and leverage our neighborhood
locations to help get more people on board for this free program. Bottom
line, if you have a wireless phone of any kind, there's no excuse for not
being a subscriber to Wireless AMBER Alerts."
The AMBER Alerts program was named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old who
was kidnapped and murdered in Arlington, Texas, in 1996. That tragedy spurred
the creation of early warning systems to aid in the recovery of abducted
children. According to NCMEC, early public notification of abducted children
through such systems as Wireless AMBER Alerts has proven effective in recovery
efforts. NCMEC says more than 230 children have been recovered as a direct
result of AMBER Alerts since the program began.
"AMBER Alerts are issued in the most serious child abduction cases in an
effort to safely recover the child as quickly as possible," said Allen.
"Through RadioShack's initiative, we hope to see more eyes and ears than ever
assist law enforcement in the search for abducted children across the
country."
In May 2005 CTIA-The Wireless Association(R) and its members, in
conjunction with The Wireless Foundation, announced a partnership with NCMEC
to enable wireless customers to sign up to receive free, geographically
specific Wireless AMBER Alerts text messages when a child has been abducted in
their area.
With more Americans using wireless phones than ever before as an essential
part of their everyday lives, the Wireless AMBER Alerts initiative can
increase the chances of finding abducted children and suspected perpetrators.
For a complete list of wireless carriers that support the delivery of Wireless
AMBER alerts to their subscribers, visit
http://www.wirelessfoundation.org/amber/carriers.cfm .
"I commend RadioShack and Cingular for their hard work and determination
to enlist 1 million new subscribers to the free Wireless AMBER Alerts
initiative, and believe their effort will play an important role in protecting
children throughout the United States," said Steve Largent, president and
chief executive officer of CTIA-The Wireless Association(R).
Starting Jan. 1, Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and
BellSouth Corporation (NYSE: BLS), began selling its full line of post-paid
products and GoPhone pre-paid products through approximately 5,000 RadioShack
stores nationwide. Cingular has the nation's largest digital voice and data
network and is the nation's largest wireless company, with more than 52.3
million customers.
Cingular was among the first wireless carriers to enable its subscribers
to opt-in to receive Wireless AMBER Alerts directly from their handset using a
convenient short code.
"The AMBER Alerts program is a proven way to help locate abducted children
and we urge everyone to sign up for Wireless AMBER Alerts," said Ralph de la
Vega, chief operating officer of Cingular Wireless. "Cingular is a longtime
supporter of the AMBER Alerts initiative, and we're excited that our customers
can now sign up for the service directly through their Cingular phones. We
can all make a difference by taking just a moment to sign up for this
program."
How To Sign Up:
Method 1 - From your Cingular Wireless Handset:
Text the word "Amber" or "Subscribe" to 26237 (AMBER). When you receive
a message, reply with the word AMBER followed by up to five ZIP codes.
Method 2 - At RadioShack Internet Centers
Likewise, signing up at any of the approximate 5,000 RadioShack Internet
centers throughout the country is a simple process that takes less than
one minute. Customers should ask a sales associate to open the signup
Web site, then they simply opt-in by entering their wireless number and
up to five ZIP codes.
Method 3 - Through the Internet:
Go to http://www.wirelessamberalerts.org and follow the simple online
instructions.
The Wireless AMBER Alerts Subscription Drive is the newest program of
RadioShack's nationwide community initiative called "StreetSentz: Common Sentz
Tips for Safer Kidz" (http://www.streetsentz.com ). Created in partnership
with NCMEC in 2003, the program provides families with tools to keep children
safer from abduction, violence, and exploitation.
About RadioShack
Fort Worth, Texas-based RadioShack Corporation is one of the nation's most
trusted consumer electronics specialty retailers and a growing provider of a
variety of retail support services. The company operates through a vast
network of sales channels, including: nearly 7,000 company and dealer stores;
over 100 RadioShack locations in Mexico; and more than 700 wireless kiosks.
RadioShack's knowledgeable and helpful sales associates deliver convenient
product and service solutions within an estimated five minutes of where 94
percent of all Americans either live or work. For more information on
RadioShack Corporation, visit http://www.RadioShackCorporation.com . To learn
more about RadioShack products and services or to purchase items online, visit
http://www.RadioShack.com .
About Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States,
serving 52.3 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc.,
formerly SBC Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corporation , has the largest
digital voice and data network in the nation -- the ALLOVER(SM) network -- and
the largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier.
Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(SM), the wireless
plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the
company are available at http://www.cingular.com . Get Cingular Wireless
press releases e-mailed to you automatically. Sign up at
http://www.cingular.com/newsroom .
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with
the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting
mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 350,000 leads.
Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more
than 111,000 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than
96,900 children. For more information about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-
hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at
http://www.missingkids.com .
About the Wireless Foundation
The Wireless Foundation is a non-profit organization that was formed by
member companies of CTIA-The Wireless Association(R) in 1991. The Foundation
oversees a number of programs designed to put wireless technology to work
addressing the challenges of society.
http://www.wirelessfoundation.org
SOURCE RadioShack Corporation; Cingular Wireless
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Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000518/DATH047LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk
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Related links:
http://www.radioshackcorporation.com
http://www.RadioShack.com
http://www.wirelessfoundation.org/amber/carriers.cfm
http://www.cingular.com http://www.cingular.com/newsroom
http://www.wirelessamberalerts.org
http://www.streetsentz.com http://www.missingkids.com
CONTACT:
Charles Hodges, Director of Consumer Media
Relations of RadioShack Corporation, +1-817-415-3300, or
charles.hodges@RadioShack.com ; or Clay Owen, Senior Director,
Media Relations of Cingular Wireless, +1-404-236-6153, or
clay.owen@cingular.com ; or Communications Department of NCMEC,
+1-703-837-6111, or media@ncmec.org ; or Roxanne Robbins, Public
Affairs of CTIA-The Wireless Association, +1-202-736-2983, or
rrobbins@ctia.org
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