Sprint Extends 4G Leadership by Announcing Next U.S. Markets to Experience Sprint 4G

[1]March 25, 2009 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland and Seattle among Cities to Experience Turbo-Charged Mobile Broadband in 2009

Markets Expected to See Sprint 4G in 2010 Include Boston, Houston, New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE [2])--Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced the next markets in the national Sprint 4G roll out. Sprint, the first national carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, is extending its 4G leadership by launching the next- generation service across the country. Sprint 4G offers turbo-charged mobile broadband - peak downlink speeds of up to 12 Mbps in Baltimore today and average downlink speeds of 2-4 Mbps - three to five times faster than today's 3G service from any carrier.

Sprint plans to deploy Sprint 4G service in many markets in 2009, including:

Sprint also expects to launch service in multiple markets in 2010 including Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

In addition to the ongoing market roll outs of 4G service across the country, Sprint has several new 4G devices planned for 2009 and 2010, including a single-mode 4G data card, embedded laptops, a small-office-home-office broadband modem and a tri-mode phone. Sprint was the first wireless carrier to offer access to both 3G and 4G networks on one device - the 3G/4G USB Modem U300.

Sprint made history by launching 4G in Baltimore in September 2008, then by launching the first dual-mode 3G/4G device in December. The current availability of Sprint 4G in Baltimore and the roll-out of 4G in major markets in 2009 and 2010 delivers on Sprint's promise to offer a faster Internet experience in cities across the nation than any other wireless service from a national carrier.

"Sprint continues to lead the wireless industry by harnessing the power of WiMAX" said Todd Rowley, vice president of Sprint 4G. "The availability of Sprint 4G in more places this year and our aggressive expansion of Sprint 4G service demonstrates our commitment to provide 4G capabilities and devices nationwide for our business, consumer and government customers. These capabilities enable significantly enhanced performance and productivity for our customers."

Sprint 4G brings the Internet to life and represents a shift in the way business, consumers and local governments will use mobile broadband, by extending the Internet beyond home or office use. Sprint 4G data cards, laptop solutions and phones will enable businesses and individuals to work when and where they want. Among the enhancements Sprint 4G enables are rich content, larger file transfers, streaming video and low-latency remote access. Sprint 4G-enabled smart phones have the promise of delivering processing power, applications and now the network connectivity to replace the laptop paradigm.

The 3G/4G USB Modem U300 is currently available nationwide via Sprint telesales at 1-800-Sprint-1 and at Sprint retail stores, Best Buy stores and local retailers in Baltimore. The device is priced at $79.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate (excludes taxes). With the U300, customers have access to the best of both 3G and 4G and can be ready to experience 4G when it arrives in their city, while taking advantage of America's most dependable 3G network now*. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G [3].

ABOUT SPRINT NEXTEL

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 49 million customers at the end of the fourth quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com [4].

*"Dependable" based on independent, third-party drive tests for 3G data connection success, session reliability and signal strength for the top 50 most populous markets from June 2008 to November 2008.