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In Time for Trick-or-Treating, Sprint Offers Its Popular GPS-Enabled Child-Locating Service for Just $5 Per Month; Recent Enhancements Include Bird's Eye Map View, Improved Safety Checks(TM)

Photo courtesy of Midwestco-op.com 

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 2008--Just in time for Halloween, Sprint (NYSE:S) is making it more affordable for customers to use its industry-leading GPS-enabled child locator service, Sprint Family Locator. Starting tomorrow, parents can now use Sprint Family Locator, including recent enhancements, for just $5 per month. A great tool for peace of mind during trick-or-treating, Sprint Family Locator allows parents to log in on any Web-enabled Sprint phone or a computer to use GPS to see their child's location on an interactive map, even when the child is using their phone to make a call or send a text.

"Sprint has always been proud to offer the wireless family locator service with the most compatible phones and fewest plan limitations, and now we've made Sprint Family Locator the least expensive in the industry, so even more families can use this valuable tool," said Len Barlik, vice president of wireless and wireline services for Sprint. "With enhanced features and a lower price, families can take advantage of Sprint Family Locator on the Now Network this Halloween and beyond. Since becoming the first carrier to offer a GPS family locator service in 2006, we've been happy to continuously expand the functionality of Sprint Family Locator and see usage of the service continue to grow."

During the past four months, Sprint Family Locator users made an average of more than 3 million location requests through the service, including more than 3.5 million in September alone. Existing Sprint Family Locator subscribers will automatically receive the new $5 per month price, starting with their first billing cycle after Oct. 30.

In addition to lowering the price from $10 to $5 per month so more families can use Sprint Family Locator, Sprint also has recently upgraded the service with the following enhanced features not available with competitors' services:

• Custom Child Photo Upload - Customers can personalize their Sprint Family Locator experience by uploading photos of their family members. The uploaded photos are displayed next to each of the customer's locatable family members and on the map when the customer locates a family member. To upload a photo, users should log into their Sprint Family Locator account, click on "My Family" and then click "Change Photo."
• Bird's Eye Map View - Sprint Family Locator now includes improved maps. Bird's Eye View allows the user to have a 3-D map view from four different angles when using the service on a computer. Customers can zoom in on buildings and locations to get more information about their family's location and use the improved map controls to rotate the view. Customers can use this new tool by clicking on "Bird's Eye" at the top of the map.
• Pushpin Places - Customers no longer have to type an address to add a Favorite Place to their map. For example, if a building on a school campus is actually very far from the street address of the school, the customer can add a Favorite Place exactly where it is - not where the address translates to on the map. To use Pushpin Places, customers just right-click on the map while using Sprint Family Locator on a computer and select "Add Place Here." Because Favorite Places can now be situated on the map more precisely, customers can get more accurate Safety Check results.
• Improved Safety Checks - Safety Checks allow users to set a day and time to automatically check whether a family member is near a certain landmark, such as school, home or a relative's house, without logging in. This provides "hands-off" peace of mind. Now customers have the option to be notified every time or only if the family member is NOT where they are supposed to be. To use, customers should sign into their Sprint Family Locator account and click on "Safety Checks."
• Improved Location History - Now customers can see their location history side-by-side next to their map when using Sprint Family Locator on a computer. Customers can also select any location from the history to see its position on the map, including the accuracy circle, rather than just an address.

Launched in April 2006, Sprint Family Locator, developed by WaveMarket, is the industry's first family location service that enables families on the go to locate loved ones using GPS technology. Parents can use any Web-enabled Sprint phone or a computer to use the service, and more than 100 Sprint phone models can be located, including all currently available Sprint phones. In addition to showing the child's location on an interactive map, the service also gives the address, surrounding landmarks and accuracy of the child's location within a specified radius, along with the ability to click to call or send a text to the child directly from the service.

Sprint Family Locator will continue to include unlimited location requests for up to four phones and access to the service from a computer and any Web-enabled Sprint phone for the $5 monthly charge. For a limited time, customers can also take advantage of a 15-day free trial before being charged the monthly fee. Casual data charges apply to customers without a Sprint data plan. For more information or to sign up for and purchase service, customers can visit www.sprint.com/familylocator.

Customers interested in Sprint Family Locator can take advantage of Sprint's Ready Now program, which helps customers fully realize the benefits of everything the Now Network(TM) can do for them. With Ready Now, Sprint retail associates work with new or existing customers to explain, set up and demonstrate the features and applications of their phones. Sprint customers can choose how much or how little they want to learn about any phone features and applications. Customers also have a choice of sitting down with a Sprint retail associate while in the store, or they can make an appointment for a later time. For additional customer convenience, customers have the flexibility to schedule appointments either in the store or online via Sprint's store locator tool. Customers can visit www.sprint.com/readynow to schedule an appointment and find the closest participating store.

Sprint Family Locator is just one of a variety of tools offered on the Now Network by Sprint to help parents manage their children's phone usage and view safety information. Other tools include Parental Controls and Phone Access Controls. Sprint is also pleased to bring customers 4NetSafety, a program that opens the lines of communication about Internet safety between parents and children. For more information, visit www.4NetSafety.com. Sprint is committed to continually enhancing and expanding these tools to meet family needs.

Sprint has the longest history of providing location-based services in the wireless industry, beginning with the first location and mobility services in 2000; the first GPS-enabled phone to support E911 services in 2001; the first navigation service on wireless phones with turn-by-turn driving directions in 2003; and the first family location service in 2006. Sprint received the Frost & Sullivan Mobility Award for Location-based Services Company of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Sprint offers more than 20 consumer GPS applications, including Sprint Navigation, Sprint Family Locator, local search, real estate, shopping and fitness services.