Sprint Testifies Before U.S. Senate HELP Committee and Gallaudet University on Higher Education and Career Opportunities for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

The event also featured comments from Gallaudet University President T. Alan Hurwitz, National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID)President Gerry Buckley, and Seth Bravin, accessibility strategy and solutions expert with IBM.

Ellis, who serves on the Gallaudet University’s Board of Associates and the Foundation Board for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf also shared his personal story of living with a hearing disability, securing an education at Gallaudet University, and working at Sprint for almost twenty years to bring new and innovative telecommunications services and products to members of the Deaf and hard of hearing community.

“I am extremely proud to serve as Sprint’s ambassador on an issue that is so extremely important to me, Gallaudet, NTID, the U.S. Senate HELP Committee, and of course, the thousands of Deaf and hard or hearing customers that Sprint serves every day,” said Ellis. “It’s not often that a national light is shined on creating effective education and career opportunities for this workforce, and I’m glad that Sprint was invited to share its expertise and solutions in this area.”

Sprint tirelessly supports and promotes accessibility for its employees and customers who are Deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability with iconic, award-winning and value conscious devices and relay services, including hearing aid compatible wireless phones, TTY compatible phones, Sprint Video Relay Services, Sprint IP Relay, Sprint Relay with AIM, CapTel  and Web CapTel. Sprint also provides Video Customer Service.

Sprint also recently announced the availability of Sprint Mobile IP Relay, a free application that can be downloaded from the Android Market onto select Android devices, and empowers thousands of users in the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities and people with speech disabilities to communicate by phone virtually anywhere and anytime.

Sprint is the largest and most technologically advanced TRS provider in the nation with 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 with hearing persons on the phone. Sprint’s experience in this field ensures Sprint Relay users receive quality service regardless of the type of relay service they are using. Sprint’s relay service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no restrictions on the number of calls placed or the length of calls. For more information, visit www.sprintrelay.com.

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 52 million customers at the end of 2Q 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.