Sprint enhances 3G network coverage in San Francisco Bay area

With recent upgrades throughout the Bay Area, Sprint customers in and around San Francisco should expect better signal strength, faster data speeds and fewer dropped calls

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sprint (NYSE: S) customers in the San Francisco Bay Area can have happy holidays this year with increased 3G coverage just in time for holiday shopping, festive parties and family get-togethers.

“Not only can customers in the Bay Area enjoy a better network experience, they can do so without worrying about their bill”

In the past 90 days, Sprint has implemented 130 network capacity upgrades throughout the Bay Area, with an additional 62 enhancements planned for the next 90 days. The upgrades – from San Francisco to Oakland to Palo Alto – encompass all aspects of a customer’s wireless experience, including voice, data and in-building solutions. In the East Bay, enhanced areas include Berkeley, Hayward, Walnut Creek, Dublin, Livermore and Fairfield. In the North Bay, it reaches out to San Rafael, Santa Rosa and Napa. And in the South Bay, additional enhancements should benefit customers in Redwood City, San Mateo, Millbrae and Palo Alto.

“Not only can customers in the Bay Area enjoy a better network experience, they can do so without worrying about their bill,” said Christopher Brydon, Northern California Area Director, Sprint. “With Sprint’s unlimited plans and the recent network improvements, customers can use their devices the way they were intended – unencumbered.”

So what does this really mean for Sprint customers? In a word: Everything. It means better signal strength so you can access virtually whatever you need whenever you need it. It means faster data speeds, so you can download Google Music Store on your HTC EVO™ 3D and hear the latest free song of the day. It means fewer dropped calls so you can call grandma to wish her Merry Christmas. It means confidence that Sprint is committed to investing in San Francisco and keeping pace with the ever-increasing demand for data with its Network Vision plan.

Announced in December 2010, Network Vision plans to consolidate multiple network technologies into one seamless network with the goal of increasing efficiency and enhancing network coverage, call quality and data speeds for customers. Smartphone penetration is expected to double over the next four years.* With Network Vision, Sprint is making it easier for data to travel so smartphone customers – who average 10 times more data than feature phone customers* – can use their devices the way they were meant to.

Network Vision and the recent upgrades reflect Sprint’s commitment to customer service, which tied for the No. 1 spot among major wireless carriers for customer satisfaction in the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index. The survey showed Sprint as the most improved company in customer satisfaction, across all industries, over the past three years.

As Sprint adds capacity across the country on the existing network – 10,251 upgrades from August through October – Network Vision work on 22,000 cell sites is underway. For a detailed look at capacity upgrades in different markets, visit www.sprint.com/network.

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 served more than 53 million customers at the end of 3Q 2011 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index showed Sprint is the #1 most improved company in customer satisfaction, across all industries, over the last three years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

*Source: Mobile Access 2010, PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

* This news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the securities laws. The statements in this news release regarding network performance, coverage and capabilities, business and network efficiencies, migration of services new technologies, timing of deployment, and products and services, as well as other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The words “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “believe,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are estimates and projections reflecting management’s judgment based on currently available information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. With respect to these forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding, among other things, development and deployment of new technologies; efficiencies and cost savings of multimode technologies; customer and network usage; customer growth and retention; service, coverage and quality; availability of devices; the timing of various events and the economic environment. Sprint Nextel believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date of this release. Sprint Nextel is not obligated to publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release. Sprint Nextel provides a detailed discussion of risk factors in periodic SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2010, in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” and in Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” of its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2011.