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Overland Park, KS-May 5, 2004-Sprint (NYSE: FON) today announced Sprint
Relay WirelessSM powered by GoAmericaTM, an easy way to make a relay call
while mobile. Based on technology developed by GoAmerica (NASDAQ: GOAM),
the provider of WyndTell® service, Sprint Relay Wireless enables users,
for the first time, to connect to Sprint Relay OnlineSM from virtually
anywhere using a choice of wireless handheld devices and pagers.
"Sprint Relay Wireless effectively makes calling via relay-from the park,
the restaurant, or even the backyard-as easy as connecting to Sprint Relay
Online from a computer," said Mike Ligas, region vice president, Sprint
Relay. "We're excited to continue delivering on our commitment to provide
anytime, anyplace communication for the deaf and hard of hearing
communities. Working with GoAmerica was a great match because of their
experience in wireless technology as well as their experience with their
WyndTell customer base."
Sprint will demonstrate Sprint Relay Wireless at the Deaf Expo East show
on May 7 and 8 in Fort Washington, Pa. and DeafNation show on May 8 in
Hartford, Ct and the service will be widely available on a variety of
handheld devices by the end of June. The service will be free to use.
"Our WyndTell customers have expressed a strong desire to access relay
from their wireless devices," said Joe Karp, vice president of marketing
for GoAmerica. "Building the technology and extending access to Sprint
Relay Online was the natural choice given the popularity of the Sprint
service within the Deaf Community."
Sprint Relay Wireless blends the easy-to-use capabilities of Sprint Relay
Online with the power of WyndTell service. The service is immediately
accessible through the RIM 950 pager running WyndTell service. By the end
of May, the service will be available on the RIM 850 and RIM 857 devices
running WyndTell or Deafwireless service, and on an additional device by
the end of June. Those interested in the service can send an email
including contact information to
srw@goamerica.com, then an email alert will be sent as soon as the
service is available on the additional handheld devices.
Users of WyndTell service via the RIM 950 device can access Sprint Relay
Wireless by choosing "Relay" in the service's TTYchat feature. Then they
simply choose a number to be dialed from their address book, or enter a
new number. Once entered, the call proceeds as a standard relay call with
the operator and user interacting on the wireless device, as they would on
a computer connected to Sprint Relay Online. RIM users also can copy and
paste or save transcripts of relay conversations.
"When we developed this service, we wanted to make sure it felt as natural
to use as Sprint's popular online service," said Karp. "Simple things like
the ability to dial people already entered in the user's address book, the
ability to save conversations and having a recent call list turned out to
be very important to users."
Sprint Relay Portfolio of Services
Sprint has nearly 14 years of experience in providing relay services to
persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or speech disabled to
communicate with hearing persons on the phone. Sprint offers relay
services through an intelligent platform to 32 states, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico and the federal government. Sprint's experience in the field
provides the assurance that all Sprint Relay services (TTY, internet,
video, CapTel and Conference Captioning) will meet or exceed Federal
Communications Commission requirements for telecommunications relay
services (TRS). Wireless Relay service is available 24 hours a day, 365
days a year, with no restrictions on the number of calls placed or call
length. For more information visit
www.sprintrelay.com.
Sprint Government Systems Division (www.sprint.com/gsd)
is based in Herndon, Va., and offers the full range of Sprint product and
service offerings for federal and state government customers.
About Sprint
Sprint is a global integrated communications provider serving more than 26
million customers in over 100 countries. With approximately 65,000
employees worldwide and over $26 billion in annual revenues in 2003,
Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying
state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States' first
nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and an award-winning Tier 1
Internet backbone. Sprint provides local communications services in 39
states and the District of Columbia and operates the largest 100-percent
digital, nationwide PCS wireless network in the United States. For more
information, visit
www.sprint.com.
About GoAmerica
GoAmerica is the leading provider of wireless telecommunications services
for people with hearing loss. The company's vision is to improve the
quality of life for people who are deaf or hard of hearing by being their
premier provider of innovative communication services. WyndTell-a
GoAmerica Service-is the wireless service of choice for thousands of deaf
consumers across the U. S., and was recognized for Excellence in Universal
Design and Technology, by the California Governor's Committee for the
Employment of Disabled persons. For more information, visit
www.goamerica.com
or contact GoAmerica directly at TTY 201-527-1520, voice 201-996-1717.
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