Keeping Dad Connected on His Day and All Year Long

A Way for Busy Parents and Children to Stay in Touch without Breaking the Bank

WARREN, N.J. (BUSINESS WIRE), June 07, 2011 – Children everywhere will soon be making every effort to get in touch with their dad’s on Father’s Day. But staying in touch the rest of the year has its challenges, especially for aging parents with grown children who are separated by distance and busy schedules.

Additionally, dads in retirement may have limited financial resources or tools like cell phones that could help them keep in touch. For those going through tough financial times, there is a smart, free way to help grown children and their aging parents stay in touch. Assurance Wireless is a program that offers a free wireless phone plus 250 minutes of national local and long-distance monthly service to eligible customers.

In addition to keeping families connected, Assurance Wireless can help eligible customers stay connected to their children’s schools, relatives, daycare centers, care-givers and neighbors.

“Having a child with a disability, I can honestly say Assurance Wireless has been miraculously helpful in keeping me connected with a team of specialists at three hospitals to coordinate ongoing and critically-needed care for my children,” stated Evan M., 37, an Assurance Wireless customer and single father of two from Maryland. “Assurance Wireless also provides me peace of mind knowing that my daughter and son are only a call away every time they are away from home.”

Assurance Wireless customers get 250 free voice minutes per month with call waiting, a voice mail account, caller ID and access to 911 in case of emergency. Customers may also choose to prepay for additional services as needed.

Who’s Eligible?

Eligibility for Assurance Wireless varies by state and may include those who participate in Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA or Section 8), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or the National School Lunch Program’s Free Lunch Program. Customers may also qualify based on low household income on a state by state basis as well.

Assurance Wireless is currently available in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. This list of states continues to expand and can be found on the Assurance website.

To learn more about Assurance Wireless, including eligibility requirements, please call 800-395-2171 or visit www.assurancewireless.com. Information is available in English and Spanish. Prospective low income customers who find they are not eligible for Assurance Wireless may learn more about Virgin Mobile’s no contract payLo Plan options by visiting http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/paylo-plans.jsp#.

About Assurance Wireless

Assurance Wireless, one of Sprint’s prepaid brands, is supported by the Lifeline Assistance program, part of the Low Income Program of the federal Universal Service Fund (USF), which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), and designed to ensure that quality telecommunications services are available to low-income customers at reasonable and affordable rates. Assurance Wireless uses the Nationwide Sprint Network which reaches more than 275 million people.

Follow Assurance news on Facebook www.facebook.com/assurancecell, Twitter www.twitter.com/assurancecell and YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/assurancewireless.

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 51 million customers at the end of 1Q 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. 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.