Sprint Nextel Emergency Response Team Expands Programs for Hurricane Response and Recovery; No Other Carrier Can Match Sprint Nextel's Disaster Recovery Support and Interoperability

Unique to Sprint Nextel, the ERT works side-by-side with publicsafety agencies and other customers to coordinate communicationsduring emergencies and other large-scale events, standing at the readyto provide customers with three key resources during disaster responseand recovery efforts:

Personnel: The ERT staff has an unmatched depth of experience,
having responded to 23 presidentially-declared emergencies and
events in recent years. Many have backgrounds in military, law
enforcement or emergency management before coming to the
company. In addition, Sprint Nextel has a corps of more than
1,000 trained reserve employees who can volunteer to staff
scores of Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) around the
country. ERT EOC reservists receive extensive training in
emergency management policies and practices to support public
safety agencies during disasters.

Equipment: The ERT has nearly 30,000 phones at the ready for use
by public sector customers in times of crisis. Likewise, with
ERT Go-Kits(TM), public safety officials can keep a cache of
phones on-hand, ready for rapid activation during emergencies,
drills or pre-planned events.

Infrastructure: The ERT maintains a fleet of proprietary satellite
equipment that can restore service rapidly in even the most
severe conditions. Sprint SatCOWs (Satellite Cell Sites on
Wheels) and SatCOLTs (Satellite Cell Sites on Light Trucks)
can restore wireless and IP wireline connectivity anywhere,
without need for connection to the local power or telephone
utilities.

New in 2006, Sprint Nextel's ERT Rapid Deployment Services isdeploying SatCOLTs and additional staff to be pre-staged in southernstates. This for-fee service will allow first responders and othercommercial entities access to a service that will allow interoperableterrestrial-to-satellite services during an emergency.

"At the ERT, we have managed communications services for firstresponders, so that they can focus on their mission - saving lives andrestoring communities," said Matt Foosaner, director of the SprintNextel ERT. "Our new Rapid Deployment Services extend that capabilityfor other critical communications. We're proud that we go above andbeyond what's expected of a typical telecom carrier, providing a levelof service that no one else can match."

In the 2005 Atlantic Hurricane season, the Sprint Nextel ERTdeployed its personnel and its fleet of SatCOWs and SatCOLTs tohurricane response and recovery efforts across the Gulf Coast andFlorida in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. The ERTalso made more than 20,000 handsets available to first responders aspart of the company's $10 million in cash and charitable donations tohurricane relief last year. Since its creation in 2002, the Sprint ERThas served hundreds of public sector organizations and emergencyevents.

Garry Briese, Executive Director of the International Associationof Fire Chiefs, notes, "The Sprint ERT is a vital communicationsolution, and they certainly proved their mettle during Katrina. Ifyou're hit with a hurricane this season, the Sprint ERT should be oneof the first calls to get your emergency response communicationssystem up and running."

Sprint Nextel SatCOLTs: Proven, Powerful Differentiators

Sprint Nextel Satellite Cell Sites on Light Trucks have made areal difference for our customers in times of crisis. By definitionmobile and rugged, SatCOLTs can be pre-positioned in staging areasbefore hurricanes, or even loaded on planes and delivered anywherearound the world, to provide communications coverage even amidst themost severe ground situations. By combining standard COLT equipmentwith satellite uplink in a proprietary design, Sprint Nextel does whatno other carrier can - delivering a secure and stable communicationsplatform with wireless and wireline IP connectivity - as well asinteroperability among private radio networks - completely independentof the local power and telephone infrastructure.

Each SatCOLT is a 27-foot truck, loaded with satellite equipment,Cell Site antennas, generators and enough fuel to operate for anextended period of time. A team of two can raise the 60-foot mast andstart up the generators in about half an hour, and have the SatCOLTfully operating in less than two hours. SatCOLTs propagate a wirelesssignal based on the iDEN technology of the Nextel National Network,with a significant range depending on topography and other factors.This year, SatCOLTs have been upgraded to provide access to Sprint'swireline Global IP network as well. Each SatCOLT also hasinteroperability equipment on board to mesh seamlessly with thedevices already in use by public safety officials on the ground.

Other Hurricane Preparations

The Sprint Nextel ERT is just one element in the company'spreparation for the 2006 Atlantic Hurricane season. The BusinessContinuity Office (BCO) oversees the company's emergency planning,response and recovery efforts. In less than 72 hours after thelandfall of Hurricane Katrina, the BCO led the construction of a fullyfunctional incident command center near the area of impact.

In preparation for the upcoming Atlantic Hurricane season, the BCOis conducting a series of company-wide emergency drills that will helpvalidate the plans and preparations for future hurricanes and otherbusiness threatening events.

Likewise, Sprint Nextel is working to increase network coverageand resiliency in storm-prone regions, as part of an overall $6billion investment nationwide in 2006. And many customers already havestate-of-the-art communications tools in their hands. Sprint Nextel'siDEN-based Nextel(R) Walkie-Talkie feature does not rely entirely uponthe public switched telephone network; it has remained fullyoperational during past crises when there have been issues with thepublic switched telephone network. Furthermore, DirectTalk(SM)-enabled phones can communicate handset-to-handset, completelyindependent of any wireless network. With a range of up to six miles,Direct Talk has proven invaluable during past hurricane responseefforts.

To learn more about the Sprint Nextel Emergency Response Team andinteroperable communications from Sprint Nextel, you can contact theERT Support Hotline 24-7 at 1-888-639-0020. GETS Users can reach theERT at 254-295-2220.

For more information about Sprint Nextel hurricane preparationefforts, or to learn what you can do to prepare for a major storm,visit: www.sprint.com/hurricaneinfo.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of communicationsservices bringing mobility to consumer, business and governmentcustomers. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing,engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including tworobust wireless networks offering industry leading mobile dataservices; instant national and international walkie-talkiecapabilities; and an award-winning and global Tier 1 Internetbackbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.