~ Federal Grant Proposal Would Bring Innovative Cricket Broadband Service, Digital Literacy Training to More Low-Income Communities ~
SAN DIEGO - August 17, 2009 - Cricket Communications, Inc., a leading provider of unlimited wireless services and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ:LEAP), today announced the filing of an application for federal Recovery Act funding, in partnership with One Economy Corporation. The grant proposal would extend Project Change Access - an innovative program for affordable wireless broadband service - to low-income residents in five cities.
The proposal to the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration for a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant would build on the success of Project Change Access, launched in Portland, Ore., last fall as a pilot program by LCW Wireless and One Economy. LCW Wireless, a company in which Cricket owns a non-controlling interest, offers Cricket(r) unlimited service in Oregon markets. One Economy is a global non-profit organization that leverages the power of technology and information to connect low-income people to the economic mainstream.
This proposal would serve an additional 23,000 low-income families primarily in Baltimore, Houston, Memphis, San Diego and Washington, D.C. with sustainable, innovative broadband access and digital literacy training. Through a scalable "end to end" approach, Project Change Access would furnish subsidized, low-cost wireless broadband via Cricket's high-quality, all-digital 3G wireless network and a wireless device designed to work with both desktops and laptops.
One Economy would provide specialized sustainability programs that include personal technology tutoring via its "Digital Connectors," a national youth corps that receives leading-edge technology training and extends the benefits by providing service to their communities.
One Economy would also provide targeted and localized content for education, employment, and health care through its multiple online portals.
In Portland, this program has succeeded in getting and keeping low-income community members online, with wireless access, modems, training and other support. The project has also helped to bring the benefits of digital citizenship to participating families, improving access to educational resources, job programs, health care and social assistance.
Project Change Access is designed to help bridge the digital divide for low-income households that lack meaningful broadband alternatives because - even when high-speed network coverage is available - it is not always affordable to low income households. In 2009, the Pew Internet & American Life Project reported 35 percent of households with annual income of $20,000 or less had adopted broadband, compared to 63 percent nationwide.
"As we have seen in the results of the Portland pilot of Project Change Access, universal broadband is the key to economic revitalization in low-income communities that need growth in businesses and jobs the most," said Dave Maquera, vice president, strategy at Leap. "Cricket remains committed to bringing the benefits of wireless and mobile broadband to everyone, including low-income families who deserve the benefits of digital innovation that online access brings."
Rey Ramsey, Chief Executive Officer of One Economy, said: "Our partnership with Cricket will open new opportunities through the powerful tool of broadband and provide people with the resources to access the information they need to make productive decisions about their own lives. Our approach is designed to create a culture of use to ensure those benefits are meaningful and sustainable."
For more information on the Portland pilot of Project Change Access, the following video can be accessed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHenwT_JM5g.
About Cricket
Cricket is the pioneer of simple and affordable unlimited wireless services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required serving more than four million customers in 34 states. Cricket offers wireless voice and broadband Internet services over the latest technology, high-quality, all-digital 3G CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO wireless network. Cricket's wireless voice service plans include unlimited anytime minutes, unlimited U.S. long distance, unlimited text and picture messaging, unlimited text to Mexico, unlimited Mobile Web, unlimited directory assistance, as well as a variety of calling features and feature-rich mobile applications such as popular games, ringtones and wallpapers. Cricket Broadband provides unlimited Internet access anywhere within Cricket's coverage areas at speeds comparable to DSL. For more information on Cricket, visit www.mycricket.com<http://www.mycricket.com>. Cricket is offered by Leap Wireless International, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, Calif.
For more information on Leap, visit
www.leapwireless.com<http://www.leapwireless.com>.
Leap is a U.S. registered trademark and the Leap logo is a trademark of Leap. Cricket, Jump, the Cricket "K" and Flex Bucket are U.S.
registered trademarks of Cricket. In addition, the following are trademarks or service marks of Cricket: Cricket By Week, Cricket Choice, Cricket Connect, Cricket Nation and Cricket PAYGo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
About One Economy
One Economy is a global non-profit organization that uses innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people. More than 17 million people have used One Economy's online tools and resources to build better lives. Learn more at www.one-economy.com<http://www.one-economy.com>. To date, One Economy has launched on-the-ground programs in 42 U.S. states, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.