Leading Insurance Industry Franchisor Rolls Out Wireless Voice and Data
Services To Enhance Agent Productivity and Customer Service
ATLANTA, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Brooke Franchise Corporation has
selected Cingular Wireless to make voice and data services available to its
network of more than 700 franchise locations in a highly competitive
insurance industry. The two-year national contract gives franchisees access
to a variety of devices and services, including those based on Cingular's
UMTS/HSDPA technology.
In addition to voice-only handsets, Cingular will provide Brooke
Franchise Corporation and its franchisees with access to a portfolio of
integrated voice/data devices, including the EDGE-based Cingular 8125
Pocket PC, Cingular 2125 Smartphone and HP iPAQ 6500 Pocket PC, and
Cingular LaptopConnect cards enabled for Cingular's 3G-based
BroadbandConnect service.
According to Shawn Lowry, president of Brooke Franchise Corporation,
Cingular's wireless voice services will help Brooke agents avoid missing
important phone calls by forwarding calls from their office phone to their
mobile device. Brooke agents will use Cingular's UMTS/HSDPA- and EDGE-based
wireless data services to manage their e-mail while mobile and access the
company's BMS agency management system and other Web-based programs to do
on- site rate quoting and other tasks.
"Brooke agents need to be confident they can effectively conduct
business regardless of where they are," said Lowry. "Whether it's accessing
voice mail while out of the office or providing quotes at a client
location, the insurance business is predicated on sending and receiving
information quickly and accurately. Cingular's voice and data services will
effectively allow Brooke agents to 'beat the streets' and still conduct
business while on-the- go, which we feel will be a huge asset to help them
achieve their full sales potential."
"Brooke Franchise Corporation is a prime example of a technologically
savvy company that is putting wireless to work to build a competitive
advantage in the marketplace," said Tom Erdman, vice president of Cingular
Wireless' corporate markets group. "Cingular's world-class wireless and
data services will provide Brooke franchisees with the tools they need to
be even more productive when away from the office and provide an enhanced
level of customer service."
Cingular's supercharged, UMTS/HSDPA-based Cingular BroadbandConnect
service is currently available currently in 145 major metropolitan areas
including 65 of the top 100 largest cities in 33 states, Puerto Rico and
Washington, DC. This wireless broadband network offers average download
speeds between 400-700 kilobits per second (kbps), with bursts to more than
one megabit per second (mbps). Outside of Cingular's 3G coverage area,
users seamlessly connect with Cingular's nationwide* EDGE wireless data
network, the largest national high-speed wireless data network in the U.S.
with availability in more than 13,000 cities and towns and along some
40,000 miles of major highways, provides average download speeds of up to
135kbps. UMTS/ HSDPA is a global standard and natural 3G evolutionary path
for GSM providers with 142 UMTS networks in 61 countries and 72 HSDPA
networks currently available.
Cingular Wireless provides services to 95 of the Fortune 100 companies,
and counts more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and some 1,800 federal,
state and local government agencies as customers.
*Not available in all areas.
About Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States,
serving 58.7 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc.
(NYSE: T) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE: BLS), has the largest digital
voice and data network in the nation - the ALLOVER(TM) network - and the
largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier.
Cingular is a leader in third generation wireless technology. Its 3G
network is the first widely available service in the world to use HSDPA
(High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology. Cingular is the only U.S.
wireless carrier to offer Rollover(R), 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
emailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://cingular.mediaroom.com/.
About Brooke Franchise Corporation
Brooke Franchise Corporation is a subsidiary of Brooke Corporation
(Nasdaq: BXXX) that distributes insurance and related services through a
network of more than 700 franchise locations. The Brooke organization was
founded on the belief that local business owners distribute insurance and
related services more efficiently than others if supported by a franchise
system. For more information, visit http://www.brookecorp.com/.
SOURCE Cingular Wireless
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Related links:
http://www.cingular.com
http://cingular.mediaroom.com http://www.brookecorp.com
CONTACT:
John Kampfe Of Cingular Wireless,
+1-973-637-9387, or wireless, +1-908-432-3473
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