State of Nevada Awards Sprint 4th Consecutive Contract for Relay Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

From: PR Newswire (press release) - Aug 3, 2004

After 13 Years of Providing Quality Services, Sprint Continues Strong Relationship for Another Three Years

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Nevada has awarded Sprint (NYSE: FON) a three-year, $1.3 million Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) contract to provide assistive communications services to individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech-disabled within the state. Through this contract, Sprint will continue its 13-year commitment to providing traditional TRS to Nevada users.
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"Nevada looks forward to its continuing relationship with Sprint," said Betty Hammond, Nevada TRS administrator. "Sprint has provided quality service in the past and is expected to meet our citizens' needs for the life of this contract. Sprint continues to be a pioneer in the field of relay services of all kinds and offers an array of services to the people of Nevada."

"We're pleased Nevada has chosen to continue their successful relationship with Sprint to provide their citizens with reliable, proven relay services with another three-year contract," said Mike Ligas, region vice president-Sprint Relay. "Sprint has a strong commitment with 14 years of experience in providing communication options for citizens who are deaf or hard of hearing or who have a speech disability across the country."

Sprint TRS is accessible throughout Nevada by dialing 711 or one of several toll-free numbers. Sprint TRS allow Nevada citizens who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled to communicate with hearing persons on the phone through traditional relay services, which involve a relay operator serving as an intermediary for phone calls between a deaf user and a hearing party. The TRS operator speaks words typed by a deaf user on a text telephone (TTY) or via the Internet and relays the hearing person's spoken response by typing back to the deaf user.

Sprint provides FCC-compliant relay services to the federal government, 31 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and New Zealand. Sprint Relay began in 1990 and provides state-of-the-art technology, a full range of features and highly trained, professional staff to ensure users are able to communicate easily and effectively every time they place a relay call. Relay service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no restrictions on the number of calls placed or call length. Information about Sprint Relay services is available at http://www.sprintrelay.com .

Sprint Government Systems Division ( http://www.sprint.com/government ) is based in Herndon, Va., and offers the full range of Sprint product and service offerings for federal and state government customers.

For questions about Nevada Relay, contact Sharaine Rawlinson, Sprint Account Executive, by email at Sharaine.J.Rawlinson@mail.sprint.com .

About Sprint
Sprint is a global integrated communications provider serving more than 26 million customers in over 100 countries. With approximately 63,000 employees worldwide and over $26 billion in annual revenues in 2003, Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint provides local communications services in 39 states and the District of Columbia and operates the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS wireless network in the United States. For more information, visit http://www.sprint.com .

© 2004 PR Newswire