Sprint Helps Customers Make Informed Buying Decisions, Manage Wireless Usage and Bills

Consumer Web chat scheduled on March 10

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), March 07, 2011 – In support of National Consumer Protection Week (March 6-12) and to strive to create great customer experiences, Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings) is reminding customers of the information and programs it offers to help them understand Sprint’s service and products before making a purchase. The company is also reminding customers of the various tools it provides to help them more easily manage their wireless usage and bills.

Sprint is hosting an online web chat at 2 p.m. (CST) Thursday, March 10, on the community site of Sprint.com with Melinda Parks, Sprint director of marketing. The Web chat, “Shopping for Wireless Service and Managing the Service You Now Have,” is designed to answer customers’ questions about what Sprint does to help customers through the buying process and management of wireless usage. To pre-submit questions to the Web chat, click here.

“A well-informed and knowledgeable consumer is a happier customer,” said Jerry Adriano, Sprint vice president for the customer experience. “Sprint is committed to educating our customers and providing them the information and tools they need to make smart decisions about the wireless services and products they purchase and use everyday. Our goal is to ensure consumers get specific information regarding a plan’s service allowances, charges, device costs, features and contract terms so that they are fully educated on the plan and device at the time of purchase.”

Shopping for a Wireless Plan and Device

Customers shopping for wireless devices and plans can rest assured knowing Sprint offers a variety of programs, policies and tools to help them make informed buying decisions.

Sprint Free Guarantee:

With the Sprint Free Guarantee, customers can try Sprint for 30 days. Customers not completely satisfied, can get reimbursed for the device purchase, activation fee, monthly recurring charges, and they can get the early termination fee and all associated taxes and Sprint surcharges associated with these charges waived. In addition, Sprint will waive the restocking fee for new customer exchanges.¹

Network Coverage:

To set accurate expectations about network coverage before signing up for wireless coverage, Sprint provides street-level mapping at sprint.com/coverage. Coverage maps are also available at Sprint retail stores.

Right Plan Promise:

With Sprint’s Right Plan Promise, should customers’ wireless needs and usage change, they have the flexibility to change their plans at any time without any fees and without extending their contract.

Ready Now:

Sprint retail associates work one-on-one with customers to personalize their phone, set up all of its features and demonstrate how it works – before they leave the store. Whether it’s showing someone how to send an e-mail, download a photo, text, or use a live search to find an address, with Ready Now Sprint retail associates teach customers what their phone will do from the first day they own it. www.sprint.com/readynow.

Sprint.com:

More than 59,000 customer-generated Ratings & Reviews across 126 devices are integrated into the Sprint shopping experience found at www.sprint.com/phones, where honest and candid feedback about Sprint devices and products from customers helps others make better buying decisions. It also includes links to third-party expert product reviews.

Sprint also hosts an online social networking community of more than 2.7 million registered users. Here, users interact with each other and Sprint employees in open forum discussions about products, services and all things wireless. In addition, Sprint customer care representatives engage customers to help answer questions and solve problems. To be a part of the conversation too just register with My Sprint on Sprint.com and join the Community.

Managing Bills and Wireless Usage

Sprint offers a number of tools and ways to assist customers with the management of their wireless bills and voice, data and text usage.

All-inclusive Pricing Plans:

Sprint’s worry-free all-inclusive pricing plans such as Simply Everything®, Everything Data and Any Mobile, Anytime^SM, make it easier for customers to use all of the features of their phones. Customers have no need to get out a calculator to tally up prices for each feature or guess how much data they’ll use in a month.

No-contract Options:

Sprint also offers value and flexibility through its prepaid brands, including Virgin Mobile USA and Boost Mobile, both of which offer smartphones without the requirement of annual contracts. Virgin Mobile USA’s Beyond Talk data plan at $25 per month (excluding taxes and surcharges) and Boost Mobile’s Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage at $50 per month (excluding taxes and surcharges) both offer predictability and convenience. Both brands alert customers to add money to their account for voice and other features as their balance gets low. Customers can also check their balance at any time on their handsets. For more information, visit www.virginmobileusa.com or www.boostmobile.com.

Usage Alerts:

Sprint monitors the wireless usage of new and existing customers. If Sprint has an email address for new customers, during the first six months of service the company will notify them via email the first time they have incurred $10 or more in voice, text or data overage charges. Existing customers with email addresses on file will be notified if they incur $20 or more in voice, text or data overages in two of the last six months.

Sprint also identifies and alerts customers through outbound calls or texts when they incur extremely and unusually high overages for the first time. In all cases, Sprint customer service agents will educate customers on how to avoid the overages in the future and will recommend a plan that will better meet their wireless needs.

Other alerts for mobile broadband and international usage include:

• Mobile Broadband Connection Plan Usage Status – provides mobile broadband customers email or text alerts when they reach 75 percent and 90 percent of their data caps.
• International Roaming – Sprint sends a “welcome message” when a subscriber first registers in a foreign country. It’s a text message that includes the rates for voice, texts and data in that particular country.

Sprint Plan Optimizer:

Sprint Plan Optimizer gives consumer customers the power to analyze their own wireless usage trends and help make educated and informed decisions about their plans. The Sprint Plan Optimizer, available at www.sprint.com/planfit, also helps customers understand unplanned costs, such as overages (if applicable), and provides a breakout of monthly costs and average monthly usage patterns for voice minutes, text messaging and data.

Wireless Account Information:

Sprint customers can visit Sprint.com to check notifications and alerts about their activity on usage, billing, payment options, devices and more when they log onto My Sprint.

Sprint also offers widgets that iGoogle and Facebook users can download to stay informed on usage, call details and upgrade eligibility. In addition, at any point during a Sprint customer’s billing cycle, he or she may dial *4 from their handsets to get an automated tally of their voice minutes, text messages and data used to date. Customers also have the capability to have the information sent to them by text message.

Parental Controls:

Sprint offers free account management tools to help parents restrict or limit phone use by minors. The tools, available at www.sprint.com/family enable parents to block texts and numbers, digital media downloads, Web access, Picture Mail and voice calls.

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 49.9 million customers at the end 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, 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.

¹ Refund excludes usage not included in the service plan, premium content, third-party billing and international charges. ETF waiver contingent on meeting the terms of the return policy.