Sprint Nextel Forms Public Safety Advisory Board; First Responders Provide Guidance on 800 MHz Reconfiguration

Business Wire, May 11, 2006

RESTON, Va. -- Today Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) announced the creation of an advisory board to provide key insight from the public safety community on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandated reconfiguration of the 800 MHz spectrum band. The advisory board will counsel Sprint Nextel on reconfiguration implementation issues from a public safety perspective.

Sandy Edwards, vice president, spectrum for Sprint Nextel said, "Sprint Nextel recognizes that police, firefighters and other emergency workers face a unique set of challenges in retuning their communications systems that are different from those faced by commercial and private wireless operators. We believe the advisory board will ensure that we better understand the special considerations and challenges involved in retuning public safety communications systems. We are hopeful that public safety officials across the country will come to rely on members of the advisory board as an additional channel for sharing their thoughts and concerns as reconfiguration moves ahead as well as for facilitating communications among themselves and Sprint Nextel."

Joining the advisory board are Stephen Browne of Denver, David Seidel of San Bernardino County and Chief Charles Werner of Charlottesville, Va. Mr. Browne has an extensive background in emergency communications, having served most recently as executive manager of safety for technology and operations for the City and County of Denver, Co. Mr. Seidel has spent three decades in law enforcement, with particular expertise in the 800 MHz spectrum while managing the public safety radio communications system for San Bernardino County, CA. Chief Werner is a thirty-year veteran of the fire service, currently serving as fire chief with the City of Charlottesville, Va., Fire Department.

Commenting on the new advisory board, Chief Werner added, "On behalf of my colleagues, I'm pleased to see that Sprint Nextel continues to recognize the vital stake that public safety has in seeing 800 MHz reconfiguration through to a successful completion. As we move deeper into the reconfiguration of public safety channels at 800 MHz, I encourage first responders to share critical information with us regarding their own systems and to reach out to us to understand how we can collaborate to get this done on time and as required by the FCC."

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of communications services bringing mobility 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.