Sprint Relay(SM) Customers Now Benefit from Telecommunications Services

Sprint (www.sprint.com) announced that it has completed the first milestone in enrolling its telecommunications relay service (TRS) in the FCC's Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) Program. Sprint TRS, communications services available for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing or have a speech disability, is comprised of a network of 14 call centers geographically disbursed throughout the United States.

The Sprint TRS network is designed to reroute traffic to other Sprint Relay centers across the country to continue uninterrupted service.

Sprint anticipates enrolling the rest of the TRS call centers by the end of 2005. However, unlike other TRS providers, when a disaster occurs, Sprint TRS has the ability to reroute calls immediately to an unaffected call center and continue to process calls with minimal customer impact. Sprint is proud to voluntarily comply with the FCC's TSP program.

In 1988, the TSP program was established to prioritize the restoration of telephone service to critical facilities and agencies at times when telecommunications companies are typically overburdened with service requests, such as after a natural disaster.

"As a part of Sprint's dedication to providing a variety of reliable and effective communications services for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, we recognized the urgency to ensure reliable communications during emergency situations," said Mike Ligas, region vice president - Sprint Relay. "We're pleased to be involved with the FCC's TSP Program."

Sprint has almost 15 years of experience in providing relay services to persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind or who have a speech disability, allowing them to communicate with hearing persons on the phone.