Sprint Enhances Charlotte’s Network for Thousands of Delegates, Volunteers and Journalists Attending the 2012 Democratic National Convention

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sprint [NYSE: S] loves it when customers stay politically engaged using its wireless services, truly unlimited data plans, smartphones and tablets – whether it’s receiving a text message about a candidate’s volunteer event or linking a candidate’s latest speech to their favorite social media site.

“Sprint is proud to support the thousands of delegates, staff, volunteers and media attending the convention, by providing the necessary wireless enhancements to get immediate convention details, post photos and videos to their favorite social media sites, and send email and text messages to their friends and colleagues”

For the estimated 50,000 delegates, volunteers, journalists, staff and visitors expected to convene in Charlotte next week for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Sprint is enhancing capacity and coverage for voice, text messaging and data to serve their round-the-clock needs.

In preparation, Sprint performed detailed network performance analysis of the uptown Charlotte area by reviewing historical cell site traffic and analyzing blocks and drops that occurred during past special events. Sprint’s network enhancements in Charlotte include:

Investing approximately $14 million to augment in-building wireless service and point-to-point coverage as convention attendees move between venues.
Boosting wireless coverage and capacity on the uptown Charlotte network between 25 and 50 percent by adding two macro cell sites and installing voice and data carriers to 18 existing area cell sites.
Deploying three COW (Cell Sites on Wheels) – two at the Time Warner Arena and one at the Bank of America Stadium – to enhance capacity and coverage for voice, data and text messaging at and between these venues.
Supplying to each official convention venue a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) to provide the necessary in-building coverage and the dedicated capacity needed to support the anticipated number of attendees at each location.

“Sprint is proud to support the thousands of delegates, staff, volunteers and media attending the convention, by providing the necessary wireless enhancements to get immediate convention details, post photos and videos to their favorite social media sites, and send email and text messages to their friends and colleagues,” said Steve Elfman, president-Network Operations & Wholesale, Sprint. “Sprint takes great pride in offering customers an unlimited data experience and we want them to enjoy events like this with seamless service and without worry for a need to curb their wireless usage.”

Network enhancements are not limited to Charlotte. Sprint is also deploying Network Vision, an all-new nationwide 3G/4G network, which will provide better 3G service – with a stronger wireless signal, faster data speeds, expanded coverage and better in-building performance – and a 4G LTE network with faster speeds for data applications. Sprint debuted 4G LTE in 15 cities on July 15 and continues to turn on the network many more markets. Up-to-date details on Sprint’s Network Vision can be found on www.sprint.com/4GLTE.

Sprint social media contest for the Samsung Galaxy S III

In addition to providing enhanced wireless for convention-goers, Sprint is offering Twitter users a chance to win a marble white Sprint 4G LTE-capable Samsung Galaxy S^® III on Thursday, Sept. 6 – the final night of the Democratic National Convention.

Between 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EDT, contest participants will be asked to tweet to @Sprint explaining how they would use a Samsung Galaxy S III and a Sprint unlimited data plan to stay engaged during the 2012 presidential election. All tweets are required to include the hashtag #SprintElection2012. Complete contest rules and entry requirements can be found online.

About Sprint Nextel

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 served more than 56 million customers at the end of the second quarter of 2012 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers in customer satisfaction and most improved, across all 47 industries, during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.