Sprint Continues Network Vision Progress; Selects Vendors to Decommission the iDEN Network

Goodman Networks, Overland Contracting, Inc., a construction affiliate of Black & Veatch, Pyramid Network Services LLC and WesTower Communications Inc. will negotiate site lease terminations and remove equipment

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), June 12, 2012 – Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings) announced today that it has signed agreements with Goodman Networks, Overland Contracting, Inc., a construction affiliate of Black & Veatch, Pyramid Network Services LLC and WesTower Communications Inc. to decommission the company’s iDEN network. Under the terms of the deals, these suppliers will negotiate lease termination agreements, restore cell site compounds and remove Sprint network equipment for re-use or recycling.

Sprint recently announced that it plans to cease service on the iDEN Nextel National Network as early as June 30, 2013, which marks another major milestone on the path to completing the Sprint Network Vision plan. Network Vision is a multiyear initiative to provide an enhanced network experience by improving voice quality and providing faster data speeds, while creating network flexibility and reducing operating costs.

Network Vision also improves environmental sustainability by reducing electricity use and driving down greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s announcement underscores Sprint’s commitment to decommissioning the iDEN network swiftly and efficiently. To begin preparing for the more robust network consolidation, the company expects to shut down a total of 9,600 iDEN sites before the end of the third quarter 2012.

“After a thorough RFP process, Sprint has selected the best suppliers to cost-effectively hit our milestones for site shutdown, enabling the company to exit from those locations at a minimum cost,” said John Harrison, vice president-Network Supplier Performance Management. “In addition, we have taken extra care in selecting these suppliers to ensure our industry-leading green standards are maintained.”

Sprint released an Electronic Stewardship Policy in May 2011, outlining its goal to eliminate all internal e-waste from its own operations and establishing social and environmental criteria that its e-waste suppliers must meet.

Sprint continues to facilitate migration of iDEN customers to Sprint Direct Connect service. Sprint Direct Connect, the industry’s newest push-to-talk (PTT) gold standard, was announced in October 2011. The service provides broadband data capabilities, familiar push-to-talk features, and rugged and reliable handset options. Sprint Direct Connect coverage is expected to broaden throughout 2012.

During the past eight months, Sprint has announced four rugged Sprint Direct Connect handsets: Kyocera DuraMax, Kyocera DuraCore, Kyocera DuraPlus and Motorola ADMIRAL™, which cater to push-to-talk users. Last month, Sprint made International Direct Connect available on its Sprint Direct Connect devices, expanding the reach of push-to-talk capabilities to and from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile.

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 56 million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2012 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. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers and most improved in customer satisfaction across all industries during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 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.

“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

* This news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the securities laws. The statements in this news release regarding number of cell sites, network performance, coverage and capabilities, business and network efficiencies, migration of services new technologies, timing of deployment, and products and services, as well as other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The words “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” intend,” “expect,” “should,” “believe,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are estimates and projections reflecting management’s judgment based on currently available information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. With respect to these forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding, among other things, timing of decommissioned towers; development and deployment of new technologies; efficiencies and cost savings of multimode technologies; customer and network usage; customer growth and retention; service, coverage and quality; availability of devices; the timing of various events and the economic environment. Sprint Nextel believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date of this release. Sprint Nextel is not obligated to publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release. Sprint Nextel provides a detailed discussion of risk factors in periodic SEC filings, including in its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011.