Avis Will Offer WiFi Service in S.F.: DEVICES WILL COST $10.95 A DAY

By Matt Nauman, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

May 21–Avis Rent A Car will begin offering portable WiFi connectivity to rental-car customers in San Francisco starting today. The service, called Avis Connect, will cost $10.95 a day, and it’ll first be available in cars rented at San Francisco International Airport.

Avis is the first rental-car company to offer portable WiFi, it says.

Availability will spread to San Jose, Oakland, Los Angeles and Newark, N.J., in coming weeks and then to Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle and other markets throughout the year.

The devices, created by Autonet Mobile of Larkspur in Marin County, can be carried from rentals cars into business meetings and hotel rooms. They’ll work on 95 percent of U.S. roads and don’t require cellular data cards or special software, the two companies say in a press release.

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.