Premier Communications

Offers Customers Unlimited Voice and Data OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Feb 28, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) –

 In an industry-defining move, Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced it will launch a domestic unlimited pricing plan that gives customers unlimited voice, data, text, e-mail, Web-surfing, Sprint TV(SM), Sprint Music, GPS Navigation, Direct Connect(R) and Group Connect(R) for $99.99 a month.

The new pricing plan is available to existing and new customers beginning tomorrow. “This is a bold, unprecedented move,” said Dan Hesse, president and CEO, Sprint Nextel. “Wireless today is about much more than just voice. It is about data services - texting, email, video, pictures, music, navigation, surfing the Web and more. Customers want these applications, but without complexity and without having to worry about their bill.

The $99.99 Simply Everything plan delivers it all right to the palm of their hand now. “Today’s handsets are powerful data devices. Each day they get better, faster and easier to use with more intuitive user interface designs and full Internet access. Our high-speed networks were built with this in mind and it’s where we believe the battleground lies - offering fast access to the best content and data services. We are removing the barriers for customers to feel free to use all of the features of their phones.”

The $99.99 Simply Everything plan is available to customers on both Sprint’s CDMA and iDEN networks. Existing Sprint customers can switch to the Simply Everything plan without extending their current contract either by contacting Sprint customer service or by stopping by any participating Sprint retail location. New line activations require a two-year agreement.

For families, Simply Everything includes an incremental $5 discount for each incremental line, up to five lines on the same bill. For example, two lines would amount to $194.98 ($99.99 + $94.99); a third line would cost an additional $89.99.

This is in sharp contrast to the multi-line unlimited rates offered by some competitors. The Sprint plan offers significant savings the more lines a customer adds. The move to unlimited pricing that includes data signifies a turning point for the wireless industry. Nationally accepted measures of voice quality now show very little, if any, difference among the top wireless providers. “All major carriers have good voice networks,” Hesse said. “Our network is about more than voice and more than just being the largest wireless data network. It is about allowing customers to connect with people, information and entertainment. It is about simplicity, usability and real value. The $99.99 Simply Everything plan eliminates overage surprises and provides a worry-free environment. “Our investments in innovation and speed are becoming the new areas of differentiation. These are the areas where we perform best and where we can deliver a wireless advantage for our customers.”

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks serving approximately 54 million customers at the end of 2007; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone.

Offers Customers Unlimited Voice and Data OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Feb 28, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) –

 In an industry-defining move, Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced it will launch a domestic unlimited pricing plan that gives customers unlimited voice, data, text, e-mail, Web-surfing, Sprint TV(SM), Sprint Music, GPS Navigation, Direct Connect(R) and Group Connect(R) for $99.99 a month.

The new pricing plan is available to existing and new customers beginning tomorrow. “This is a bold, unprecedented move,” said Dan Hesse, president and CEO, Sprint Nextel. “Wireless today is about much more than just voice. It is about data services - texting, email, video, pictures, music, navigation, surfing the Web and more. Customers want these applications, but without complexity and without having to worry about their bill.

The $99.99 Simply Everything plan delivers it all right to the palm of their hand now. “Today’s handsets are powerful data devices. Each day they get better, faster and easier to use with more intuitive user interface designs and full Internet access. Our high-speed networks were built with this in mind and it’s where we believe the battleground lies - offering fast access to the best content and data services. We are removing the barriers for customers to feel free to use all of the features of their phones.”

The $99.99 Simply Everything plan is available to customers on both Sprint’s CDMA and iDEN networks. Existing Sprint customers can switch to the Simply Everything plan without extending their current contract either by contacting Sprint customer service or by stopping by any participating Sprint retail location. New line activations require a two-year agreement.

For families, Simply Everything includes an incremental $5 discount for each incremental line, up to five lines on the same bill. For example, two lines would amount to $194.98 ($99.99 + $94.99); a third line would cost an additional $89.99.

This is in sharp contrast to the multi-line unlimited rates offered by some competitors. The Sprint plan offers significant savings the more lines a customer adds. The move to unlimited pricing that includes data signifies a turning point for the wireless industry. Nationally accepted measures of voice quality now show very little, if any, difference among the top wireless providers. “All major carriers have good voice networks,” Hesse said. “Our network is about more than voice and more than just being the largest wireless data network. It is about allowing customers to connect with people, information and entertainment. It is about simplicity, usability and real value. The $99.99 Simply Everything plan eliminates overage surprises and provides a worry-free environment. “Our investments in innovation and speed are becoming the new areas of differentiation. These are the areas where we perform best and where we can deliver a wireless advantage for our customers.”

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks serving approximately 54 million customers at the end of 2007; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone.

So, the world nearly came to an end this week, though I’m sure many people didn’t even realize it. No, I’m not talking about a rogue asteroid that unbeknownst to scientists came dangerously close to the earth, only missing this big blue marble in space by inches. I’m talking about Research in Motion’s BlackBerry servers going down for about four hours last week.
As with most disasters the context of such events are best captured by reading headlines. Perhaps you saw the following:

“Where are my e-mails?!?”

“BlackBerry service crashes, burns, crashes again and burns again!”

“Why did my phone and only friend stop talking to me?”

“BlackBerry outage leaves North America strawberry red with rage”

“GRRRR! ARGGHHHH! Help!”

“The day the BlackBerries died”

(Two of these headlines are real. Your challenge is too find them.)

RIM, a Canadian company for those keeping score, came out a few days later with the excuse that the disruption in service occurred while they were performing much needed upgrades to their servers to ensure that they could handle the continued growth of their user base.

Since this was the third such disruption in recent memory, there is a good chance such an outage will occur again. We can only hope that when it does funny headlines will follow.

Beginning March 2, 2008, for customers not currently subscribing to a Messaging Package, the price for sending Text Messages to the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico - as well as the price for receiving Text Messages from anywhere - will increase from $0.15 to $0.20 per message, per address.  The price to send an International Text Message will remain $0.25 per message, per address.  If you do subscribe to a Messaging Package, your package rates will stay the same.  For information regarding this change, visit www.vzw.com/FAQMessaging.

If you need to sign up for a messaging package, please contact us.

New Cellular Phone Laws that Go Into Effect July 1, 2008

From the State of California http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/