Sprint Relay Earns Top Honors for Best Overall Customer Care and Speed of Service from Paisley Group

The only carrier to earn a perfect score in key customer care category

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), April 19, 2011 – Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings) today announced that it has earned top honors in Customer Care and Speed in the 2011 Paisley Group National Relay TTY Performance Index^TM. Sprint Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) enable text-telephone (TTY) callers and hearing callers to communicate with one another through trained Relay Operators. Paisley’s National Relay TTY Performance Index included several domestic TRS providers.

In the Overall Customer Care category, Sprint was the only provider to earn a perfect score. The category captures the number of critical errors that relay providers make when relaying messages (i.e., errors that change the meaning of the message). In the Speed category, Sprint’s relay operators earned best-in class honors, exceeding the FCC-mandated typing speed (82 wpm vs. the mandated 60 wpm). Sprint ranked as the best in overall WPM and Passed calls. Sprint’s blazing-fast, third-generation TRS platform also contributed to the win.

“Speed makes a difference in the relay industry – when callers receive faster service, government entities responsible for funding relay services are charged less time per call,” said Jeff Rudolph, president and CEO of the Paisley Group LTD. “Sprint’s average conversation length of three minutes exceeds the three-minute, 21-second industry mean (2011) and stands in testament to an organization dedicated to optimal efficiency.”

Mike Ellis, director of Sprint Relay, said, “The Paisley Group’s report underscores Sprint’s commitment to its customers. It has been our goal to deliver the best quality in relay services over the past 20 years, and we’ve consistently achieved it.”

About the Paisley Group, Ltd.

The Paisley Group is a leading third-party quality assurance organization and independent research firm. With more than 25 years of experience, Paisley helps clients to reduce costs, retain customers and win market share in a variety of industries. Paisley’s quality audits, customer surveys, social media analytics, social CRM, and contact center optimization programs are designed to help organizations create delighted, loyal customers and reduce churn. Paisley is the authority in directory assistance, toll assistance and relay services. Using industry accepted quality measurements of Customer Fulfillment^SM, Customer Care^SM, and Content Delivery (voice or text based), the Paisley Group’s professional analysis provides root cause data necessary for performance benchmarking and continuous contact center improvements. Learn more about the Paisley Group at www.thepaisleygroup.com.

About Sprint Relay

Sprint is the largest and most technologically advanced Telecommunications Relay Service provider in the nation, providing relay services for 31 states and the federal government, in addition to New Zealand and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Sprint has more than 20 years of experience in providing relay services to persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or have a speech disability to communicate over the phone. Sprint’s relay services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no restriction on the number of calls placed or call length. For more information, visit www.sprintrelay.com.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, business 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.