Getting Into The Speed Zone

For those of you who subscribe to Oceanic’s Road Runner for your Internet Service, there are a number of services available you may not know about. For starters, as a Road Runner subscriber, did you know you automatically have free access to a wireless Internet network, off-site storage or streaming radio?

The Internet wireless spots are called Road Runner Speed Zones, and come in handy when you’re on the road since there’s sure to be one near you. Here’s where you can find them: Tamarind Square (downtown Honolulu), Waikiki (Diamond Head end), Aloha Tower Marketplace (Mauka), Pearlridge Center Uptown (near Borders), Kailua Business District, Iroquois Lagoon Yacht Club, Hickam AFB Exchange Food Court, Schofield Barracks Burger King and Popeye’s dining area, Schofield Barracks Exchange, Upper Kapahulu and Kona (Alii Drive).

The hotspot locations will be expanding, so you can look for more zones soon in Ala Moana Park, Ala Moana Center’s third floor, Ala Wai Yacht Harbor and the area between Ward Centre and Ward Multiplex. There are also plans to roll out more Speed Zones on the Neighbor Islands. If you’re not a Road Runner subscriber, you can still access the Speed Zones for a charge of $2.95 per hour (with half-day and weekly plans available).

“Road Runner subscribers can access the fastest Internet service in Hawaii without using their modem,” says Alan Pollock, vice president of marketing at Oceanic Time Warner Cable. “Our goal is to create free Road Runner Speed Zones through out the Islands while using customer feedback to help us plan where the next Speed Zones should be. Speed Zones is another of the many added value features compliments of Road Runner High Speed Online.”

Beginning June 4 you can log on to rr.speedzone.com to find a map that identifies all the Speed Zones in the state.

As you’re using a Speed Zone, you can sit back and listen to your favorite music on RR Radio. There are 52 channels (from Music Choice) of commercial-free music, and all you need to listen is Windows Media Player (PC) or Flip4Mac (Mac) - both free downloads.

After you’re relaxed and listening to your music, know that Road Runner’s Safe Storage provides you with a sense of security by providing you data storage (up to 500 MB) at no charge. This may be a small amount of space, but it’s good for your most-treasured files (i.e. pictures, irreplaceable documents or your favorite songs).

If you’re spending loads of money on your current long distance bill, you may want to think about subscribing to Oceanic’s home phone service (especially if you already have Road Runner Internet). You can reach your friends and family on the Neighbor Islands, Mainland and Canada unlimited for $39.95 a month. The features include three-way calling, call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding and speed dialing, and you can use your existing phone number. For emergencies, you can still dial 911. The enhanced 911 automatically transmits your address and phone number to emergency services. If you order Oceanic home phone service this month your plan will only be $29.10 a month for an entire year. Now that’s a great deal!

You may remember me writing about Road Runner’s PhotoShow, the way to share photos and videos on TV (channel 917) for Oceanic’s Digital Cable subscribers. PhotoShow Deluxe helps you automatically locate and manage all of the photos and videos on your computer, and touch up your photos and videos with ease. You can easily create your own personalized website or musical slideshow for PhotoShowTV. And you can view our very own MidWeek Pa’ina photos there too.

For more information on the services mentioned above and more, check out www.hawaii.rr.com