Ameritrade Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: AMTD), one of America's leading online brokerage firms, and Sprint PCS (NYSE: PCS), the nation's largest all-digital, all-PCS nationwide wireless network, today announced an agreement that will enable Ameritrade and Sprint PCS customers to access their accounts, place trades and receive stock alerts using the Sprint PCS Wireless Web. The two-way transactional service is the first of its kind via wireless phones in the United States and is expected to be available in late October.
"As a provider of online brokerage services to the Sprint PCS Wireless Web, Ameritrade will enable investors to have anytime, anywhere access to its Web site via Sprint PCS Phones," said Thomas K. Lewis, Jr., co-chief executive officer of Ameritrade Holding Corporation. "We're excited to be working with the market leader, Sprint PCS, which was the first carrier to launch wireless Internet services nationwide, making it easy for customers to put the power of the wireless Internet in the palm of their hand. After extensive reviews, we selected Sprint PCS as our wireless provider of choice because the company offers the highest quality and best overall coverage in the metropolitan areas where Ameritrade customers live and work."
Andrew Sukawaty, Sprint PCS President, said, "We are tremendously excited to be the first wireless provider to offer Ameritrade's transactional brokerage services to consumers nationwide. This marks the first time that customers in the United States can open an account and place trades directly over the wireless Internet via a wireless phone. Similar to the evolution of online services, our agreement with Ameritrade represents the next phase of the Sprint PCS Wireless Web, moving from anytime, anywhere information access to a mobile environment that offers consumers a full suite of clear, simple transactional shopping and financial services."
Lewis noted that the addition of wireless web access is another step in Ameritrade's continuing effort to extend the ability of its customers to invest when and how they choose.
"Ameritrade is a customer-oriented organization," Lewis said. "We know that our customers want to be empowered to act on their investment decisions at any given moment. That's why, in addition to this new, convenient Sprint PCS Wireless Web access channel, we're offering our customers extended hours trading. We also have customer service professionals available 24 hours-per-day Monday through Friday."
Sprint PCS customers who have an Internet-ready Sprint PCS Phone will be able to access their Ameritrade account at no extra charge as part of any Sprint PCS Wireless Web Service Plan - starting at less than $10 a month when added to an existing voice plan $29.99 and higher. Once an Ameritrade account is accessed via a Sprint PCS Phone, all Ameritrade fees apply in the same manner as if a customer had accessed Ameritrade from a desktop computer for standard online brokerage services - currently $8 per market order.
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