Do you have to be an SBC internet customer to get the $1.99 rate?
Yep. But just to be very clear, the $1.99 deal is if you're an SBC
DSL internet customer. If you're only an SBC
Dialup internet customer...it's $9.99 per month for the Freedomlink only (no roaming) plan. Scroll down on this page for plans:
http://www.sbc.com/gen/general?pid=5949
You can sign-up for the Freedomlink add-on online, and you immediately get access.
Well, I KNOW that it works at some wayport locations, like SJC, since that is a wayport port and I was able to login with my sbc login no problem.
I think you've either been lucky then with perhaps SJC having a buggy portal, or somehow your account got accidentally coded for roaming, or you might double check your bill to see if you are being billed more than the $1.99 per month.
Although Avis Rent-A-Car at SJC has a Freedomlink hotspot.
I've tried Wayport at dozens of hotels and several airports (including IAH which has a Sprint/Wayport roamer) and the logon page just rejects me. So for me so far, I'm only good to go at the actual Freedomlink locations (except McDonalds which as I mentioned is the allowed Wayport exception on the $1.99 no-roaming plan).
But hoping that I might somehow get in at a Wayport roaming location...I figure it never hurts to try, so I keep trying. But I've yet to be allowed to sneak in.
“Roaming” services are available through a number of partners. Roaming access is available through agreements between SBC FreedomLink and other Wi-Fi providers to let FreedomLink customers access their network at selected hot spots. The only services where “Roaming” is included are the Premier service products.
Our FreedomLink service is priced to meet a variety of budgets and connection needs.
Subscription Service — Available for SBC Internet access (DSL and Dial-up) members only. Members can choose from one of the following subscriptions:
Basic subscription service provides unlimited access to all FreedomLink Hot Spots — $1.99 per month for DSL members and $9.99 per month for Dial-up members.
Premier subscription service provides unlimited access to all FreedomLink Hot Spots plus all roaming partner locations — $21.99 per month for DSL members and $29.99 per month for Dial-up members.
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Memberships — Available to non-SBC Internet access members. Customers can choose from one of the following memberships:
Basic memberships provide unlimited Internet access at all FreedomLink Hot Spots for just $19.95 per month with a one year term commitment.
Premier memberships provide unlimited Internet access at all FreedomLink Hot Spots, plus all roaming partner locations for just $39.95 per month with a one year term commitment.