Sprint adds roadside assistance & driving direction service; Sprint TV adds FOX news

- Gary Thayer, Editor

Overland Park, KS, April 27, 2005 -- (MobileVillage) --Sprint has added three new services over the past week: the addition of FOX News to its Sprint TV service, and the addition today of wireless operator-assisted navigation and roadside assistance services.

Sprint TV

Sprint's Sprint TV service has added live news from the FOX News Channel (FNC), for customers with multimedia phones. Sprint TV, powered by Idetic, was first launched in August 2004. The service now offers 17 channels of video content on demand, including news, sports, weather, music, cartoons, and made-for-mobile movies. Sprint PCS Vision subscribers can add Sprint TV to their existing Sprint PCS Vision plan for $10 per month, or subscribers may choose the Sprint Multimedia Pack and get unlimited access to Sprint TV, wireless data, Picture Mail and Sprint PCS Video Mail and 100 SMS text messages for $25
per month. All multimedia services plans are in addition to voice calling.

Driving Directions & Roadside Assistance

Sprint's subscription-based Roadside Rescue service has added satellite-assisted services. Subscribers can ask Roadside Rescue dispatchers to identify their locations to send help, or ask directory assistance operators to pinpoint their position for turn-by-turn directions from wherever they are to wherever they want to go. The level of precision in locating the customer will depend on a number of factors, including the Sprint PCS Phone being used by the customer and the customer's phone preference settings, according to Sprint.

Location-based enhancement will be offered on an opt-in basis for no additional charge for the two current voice applications, Sprint PCS Directory Assistance (411) and Roadside Rescue. Pricing will remain $1.25 per directory assistance call (plus airtime) and $4.00 per month for Roadside Rescue subscription. Billing methods and prices may change in the future.

Sprint's directory assistance services are provided through an agreement with INFONXX, the world's largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services. INFONXX, based in Bethlehem, Penn., provides local and national directory assistance and customer-focused solutions to Sprint.

In the future, Sprint says it plans to add other location-based voice and data services, such as mapping services to provide maps, traffic information and points of interest; and weather applications. Sprint says it is also exploring location- enabled applications for business needs, such as workforce management and field force automation.

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