Sprint Prepares Network for Near-Record Crowd at Pro Football’s Biggest Game

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), January 28, 2011 – As the Dallas/Fort Worth area prepares to welcome fans to professional football’s biggest stage, Sprint has been preparing for the big game to ensure coverage, capacity and network dependability for customers in and around Cowboys Stadium. A near-record crowd is expected to be on hand in Arlington, Texas on Feb. 6.

“We are stepping up our game this week to ensure our network is ready to handle the increased traffic that comes with the big game,” said Bob Azzi, senior vice president of Network – Sprint. “Hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to be in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and we want to ensure customers have the best possible wireless experience.”

Sprint invested nearly $50 million in the past year to improve its network in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This figure includes $2.85 million spent on telecommunications enhancements for game-day communications. An additional $2.5 million was invested to enhance coverage and capacity at additional locations throughout the area.

For this year’s event, Sprint has bolstered its wireless and wireline networks to accommodate the expected increase in voice and data traffic, including:

• Deploying two Cells on Wheels (COWs) near Cowboys Stadium for additional coverage and capacity.
• Performance improvements for the Distributed Antenna System (DAS) inside Cowboys Stadium
• Adding additional iDEN and CDMA sites for improved coverage around the stadium and at additional venues including: Dallas Convention Center, Hilton Anatole, Sheraton Dallas, Downtown Fort Worth, and the Fort Worth Convention Center.
• 4G network partner Clearwire enhanced coverage and capacity through the addition of two 4G macro sites
• On-site support at the stadium to closely monitor call and data volumes on game day.

The Sprint 3G network reaches more than 283 million people in more than 19,000 cities (inclusive of data roaming). In addition, Sprint first launched 4G in Dallas/Fort Worth in November 2009 and it is currently available in 71 markets across the country. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.

Current and prospective customers can view coverage maps using the Sprint Coverage Tool, which is available at www.sprint.com/coverage and at self-service, touch-screen kiosks at many Sprint retail stores.

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 48.8 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2010 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, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 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.