CapTel(SM) Now Available from Sprint for Hard-of-Hearing Community in Tennessee.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Regulatory Authority has awarded Sprint (NYSE:S) a new five-year contract to offer CapTel(SM) Relay Service (captioned telephone) in Tennessee. CapTel is an assistive technology aimed at easing communications for the more than 24 million Americans who are hard of hearing, have experienced hearing loss later in life or are deaf individuals with good vocalization skills. Relay Conference Captioning will also be available in Tennessee for a trial basis.

"The Tennessee Regulatory Authority is proud to have the opportunity to bring CapTel to Tennesseans who need the service," stated Miki Murphy Klein of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. "We are excited to have a hand in bringing telephone service to a more functionally equivalent standard for individuals with hearing loss."

CapTel is a leading-edge technology developed by Ultratec, Inc. of Madison, Wis., that also requires a special CapTel(TM)-equipped phone in order to place a call through the CapTel Relay Service. The CapTel phone works like any traditional phone with callers talking and listening to each other, but with one very significant difference - captions are provided live for every call. The captions are displayed on the CapTel phone's built-in screen so the user can read the words while listening to the voice of the other party. This allows conversations to flow more naturally, allowing for normal interruptions and expressed emotions. CapTel services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

"The CapTel is so appealing for many individuals as it allows them to communicate more naturally with family and friends," said Mike Ligas, director of Sprint Relay. "It is important to us to provide CapTel and Relay Conference Captioning in Tennessee so that individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing have more communications options available to them." CapTel is available through Sprint in 24 other states, including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. Hard-of-hearing active and retired federal government employees (civilian, military and federally recognized U.S. Tribal members) also can take advantage of CapTel services through Federal Relay.

For more information on CapTel services provided by Sprint, please visit www.sprintrelay.com or refer to Ultratec's Web site at www.captionedtelephone.com.

How Relay Conference Captioning works

Relay Conference Captioning(SM), developed by Caption Colorado, is a free service that combines real-time captioning and standard relay service to provide relay conference captioning calls for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in Tennessee. By using an Internet text-streaming platform supported by skilled captioners, RCC provides highly accurate real-time captioned text for any live conference call. To access Tennessee RCC, click on www.TNrelayCC.com.

How CapTel works

As users dial the phone number of the person they wish to call, the CapTel phone automatically routes their call through the CapTel call center and connects them to their called party. At the call center, a specially trained operator uses a customized voice-recognition computer and revoices whatever is said by the called party. The voice-recognition software transcribes the operator's voice into captions that appear on the bright display screen on the CapTel phone for the users to read. The users also hear the other party's voice on the phone to the best of their ability, just like any other amplified phone.

Sprint Relay Portfolio of Services

Sprint has more than 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 to communicate with hearing persons on the phone. Sprint offers relay services through an intelligent platform to the federal government, 31 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and New Zealand. Sprint's experience in the field provides the assurance that all Sprint Relay services will meet or exceed Federal Communications Commission requirements for telecommunications relay services (TRS). Relay service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no restrictions on the number of calls placed or call length. For more information, visit www.sprintrelay.com.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business and government customers. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks offering industry leading mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie capabilities; and an award-winning and global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.