Sprint Provides Free Broadband Service to More Than 4,200 Illinois Students

Sprint Donation Totals More Than $8 Million to Help Bridge the
Digital Divide Under the White House Initiative, ConnectED

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#Chicago–Today, Sprint
(NYSE:S) was joined by Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti and
Illinois Public School faculty to announce new investments to Illinois
Public Schools under the White House initiative, ConnectED. The
high-speed LTE broadband service Sprint brings to these schools will
help more than 4,200 Illinois students stay connected at-home through a
Wi-Fi hotspot. The value of Sprint’s service during the term is
estimated at more than $8.09 million.

“Without internet access, millions of children, especially minority
students living in low-income communities, would be left behind. This is
an important step to close the digital divide,” said Lieutenant Governor
Evelyn Sanguinetti. “Thank you to Sprint for their leadership and
generosity in helping us close that divide.”

Last year, Sprint
and Governor Rauner
announced the first few Illinois Public Schools
to take advantage of the ConnectED initiative, where Sprint provided
more than $3 million in free broadband service. This announcement
includes additional Illinois Public Schools with a larger investment and
a larger number of students impacted. Sprint pledged to provide wireless
broadband connectivity for 50,000 low-income K-12 students across the
U.S. as part of the White House initiative, ConnectED
– a public and private effort to get technology into classrooms and into
the hands of teachers and students to help bridge the “digital divide.”

“Our partnership with Sprint and the ConnectED program has helped us
close the opportunity gap at Leyden and strengthen our 1:1 teaching and
learning environment,” said Dr. Nick Polyak, Leyden School District 212
Superintendent. “By providing Wi-Fi access to students whose families
might not be able to afford it, we are giving every student the same
access to information, the same tools to connect and collaborate, and
the same chance to be successful.”

Sprint is proud to provide free broadband service to the following
Illinois Public Schools:

  • Leyden High School District 212
  • Hillside School District 93
  • Maine Township High School District 207
  • Township High School District 214
  • Glenbard Township High Schools District #87
  • Herscher CUSD2
  • La Grange District 105
  • Schaumburg Community Consolidated District 54
  • Consolidated High School District 230
  • Wheaton Warrenville CUSD 200
  • Kildeer Countryside CCSD 96
  • East Alton-Wood River SD 14
  • Community High School District 99
  • Huntley Community School District 158
  • Elmhurst CUSD 205
  • Skokie School District 73.5
  • Oak Park & River Forest SD 200

In addition to the ConnectED initiative, Sprint has donated $250,000 to
fund an expansion of the Connect Chicago Challenge – citywide effort to
make Chicago the most skilled, most connected, most dynamic digital city
in the world. The Connect Chicago Challenge will increase digital access
through comprehensive programming, outreach and public access in
neighborhoods throughout the city.

“Sprint has a long history of supporting initiatives that use innovative
technologies, services and devices to enhance educational
opportunities,” said Jim Mills, Sprint president of Illinois and
Wisconsin. “During this critical time for high school students, Sprint
is proud to provide free broadband services so that there are no
interruptions in their learning.”

For students who do not have access to the Internet at home, it
significantly limits opportunities to complete homework assignments,
research next-level learning, and apply for jobs. In the state of
Illinois, about 54 percent of the students live in low income households
and qualify for free or reduced lunch.

To learn more about the Sprint ConnectED program visit: www.sprint.com/connected.

About Sprint:

Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that creates more
and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about
most. Sprint served 60.2 million connections as of Sept. 30, 2016 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; leading no-contract 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. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past five years. You
can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com
or www.facebook.com/sprint
and www.twitter.com/sprint.

Contacts

Sprint
Yui Namiki, 312-523-1532
Yui.Namiki@sprint.com

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