T-Mobile USA is copying its own efforts with other chain store partners in its latest agreement with Kinko's to offer hot spot service.

The Bellevue, Wash.-based wireless phone company on Monday announced a deal to make wireless broadband Internet access available in some 1,100 Kinko's stores. The rollout of the so-called hot spot service will start in the fourth quarter of this year; pricing and location information have not yet been announced. Hot spots are areas where wireless Internet access is available to the public.

"Availability of T-Mobile hot spots at Kinko's will make it easy for mobile professionals to access their corporate network, check their e-mail, and even wirelessly print documents from anywhere inside our stores," Dan Connors, Kinko's senior vice president of corporate strategy, said in a statement.

In addition to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) voice and data services in the United States, T-Mobile has been offering Wi-Fi access in chain stores such as Starbucks since August 2002 and more recently at Borders. T-Mobile is charging Starbucks subscribers $30 per month with a one-year contract for Wi-Fi service or $40 per month without a contract. The company also has metered and prepay plans. Wi-Fi networking technology is used to create Internet access through the air within a radius of about 300 feet from a device.

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