Update on Stores Reopening and Charging Station Locations
August 31, 2017 – The majority of Sprint stores in South Texas have reopened, and mobile teams will be available in Houston and Corpus Christi. Stores in Louisiana remain open. Before visiting a store, please confirm on the Sprint Store Locator that the location near you is open today, and check back soon for mobile store locations.
All Sprint stores will serve as charging stations across the impacted area. Additional charging stations are available in the following locations:
Texas
- Houston
- George R. Brown Convention Center
- NRG Stadium
- Kroger store at Buffalo Speedway
- The City of Ingleside
Louisiana
- Lake Charles
- Lake Charles Civic Center
- Burton Coliseum
Sprint and SoftBank Commit $2.5M in Support for Employees, the Red Cross & Communities Impacted by Storm
August 30, 2017 – Sprint, our employees and SoftBank have committed at least $2.5 million to support those affected by Hurricane Harvey. The commitment will benefit Sprint employees in the impacted area, as well as the American Red Cross and other community relief organizations.
In response to the incredible outpouring of support from employees across the country ready to help hundreds of Sprint team members impacted by the storm, Sprint employees set up a GoFundMe campaign. This GoFundMe will directly fund recovery and restoration efforts for those employees left struggling in Harvey’s wake.
“The impact of Hurricane Harvey has been devastating for South Texas and the Gulf Coast, and we know the road to recovery will be long and difficult,” said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. “So, we’re stepping up to contribute at least $2.5 million to the Harvey relief efforts, and will continue to focus on the safety of our employees, keeping our customers connected, and supporting the entire impacted region.”
Customers can get more details on Sprint's efforts by visiting the Sprint Community.
Sprint Expands Support for Customers Impacted by Hurricane Harvey
August 29, 2017 – In addition to waiving casual call and text overage fees, effective August 26 through September 8, 2017, for Sprint, Boost and Virgin Mobile customers, Sprint will waive data overage fees for customers in Texas and Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Fees will be proactively waived during the specified timeframe. Customers on Unlimited plans will continued to enjoy their unlimited data, call and text benefits.
Customers are encouraged to use text messaging when possible due to high call volumes and possible network congestion in the local area.
Sprint Supporting Customers Impacted by Hurricane Harvey
August 26, 2017 – Effective today through September 1, 2017, Sprint will waive casual call and text overage fees for Sprint, Boost and Virgin Mobile customers in the impacted areas of Texas and Louisiana. Fees will be waived during the time specified. Customers on Unlimited plans will continued to enjoy their unlimited data, call and text benefits.
Customers are encouraged to use text messaging when possible due to high call volumes and possible network congestion in the local area.
“Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this incredible storm and we are doing all we can to help them stay connected during this time,” said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure.
Sprint is Ready for Hurricane Harvey
HOUSTON – August 24, 2017 – With Hurricane Harvey threatening heavy rainfall in Texas and parts of Louisiana, Sprint (NYSE: S) has made extensive preparations to help keep its wireless customers connected. Some of the measures Sprint has taken to prepare include:
- Investing millions of dollars in new cell site equipment, back-up batteries and greater fiber backhaul across Gulf Coast states like Louisiana and Texas.
- Utilizing established Disaster Recovery yards throughout the region to store and stage assets for response during an event.
- Performing routine maintenance checks and fueling fixed and portable generators in the event of commercial power fails.
- Pre-staging vehicles and crews across Texas in anticipation of the storm.
- Standing ready to deploy incident management teams, as needed, to assess impacted areas and inspect local wireless networks after the event.
- Additionally, Sprint stores in Texas are offering discounted charging accessories in areas impacted by the storm.
Customers can check the Sprint Store Locator to confirm which stores near them are open. It is recommended that customers first call the store to verify it is open and check the local conditions before traveling to stores.
Sprint Emergency Response Team
Sprint’s Emergency Response Team has activated its Disaster Support Program which allows for state and local government agencies, in states that have issued a proclamation for a State of Emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey, to request up to 25 mobile devices, with up to 14 days of service from the date of declaration, free of charge to these agencies.
In addition, Sprint ERT maintains approximately 10,000 devices in its inventory. Other government, tribal, non-governmental, healthcare and private sector organizations requiring temporary equipment, such as handsets and mobile broadband devices, that do not qualify for the Disaster Support Program, can request additional temporary use equipment and service through Sprint ERT’s rental program.
Storm Preparation Tips
To help wireless consumers prepare for a storm this season, Sprint offers these tips to help ensure residents in the path of Hurricane Harvey stay safe:
- Keep wireless phones and backup batteries charged, but be aware that an interruption of wireline and commercial power could affect wireless calls.
- If possible, have extra batteries on hand and charged.
- In times of commercial power outages, a car adapter for your wireless phone should enable you to recharge the battery.
- Keep phones and necessary accessories in a sealed plastic bag to avoid water damage during flooding.
- Load family and emergency numbers into your wireless phone.
- Use your Sprint camera phone to take digital pictures or video of your property and valuables before the storm hits. Upload the images to your cloud so you have "before" pictures in the event of any storm damage.
- Wireless networks sometimes experience heavy traffic during emergency events, so remember to send a text message.
Store these emergency and weather-related apps on your phones:
- In Case of Emergency (ICE) - This app provides EMTs with critical personal and medical data including name, important notification telephone numbers, blood type, allergies, physician's name and number, and existing medical conditions.
- First Aid – American Red Cross - This app offers concise, clear instructions with advice on offering first aid. It includes illustrations, videos and step-by-step advice that show how to take the necessary action in the correct order.
- 911 Help SMS – Shows family members your location when you’re calling 911 for help via text and email.
- WeatherBug - Find out the current local weather, hourly and seven-day forecasts. WeatherBug features live neighborhood weather updates from weather stations across the U.S.--including NWS weather alerts such as tornado warnings.
- Storm Radar with NOAA Weather & Severe Warning - Interactive map with 8 hours of high-definition past to future radar, advanced storm cell tracking, and real-time severe weather alerts. View current weather conditions or daily and hourly forecasts.
Quotes:
“We have taken the steps to ensure that the Sprint network in Texas has been prepared for moments like this,” said John Stevens, Sprint Regional President for Central Texas. “We have an emergency response team deployed to the impacted areas, and our primary focus remains on ensuring that our customers, employees and the communities that we serve remain safe and connected."
"We are ready to respond to Hurricane Harvey," said Jon Blitz, Sprint President for the South Central Region. "Ahead of hurricane season, our teams have been preparing our network across Louisiana with the goal of making sure our wireless customers can stay connected to friends and family.”
"Sprint has hundreds of fixed and portable generators currently available throughout Houston, San Antonio, South Texas, and Louisiana, in the event of any commercial power outages," said Mike Hennigan, regional vice president – Network at Sprint. "We are ready to deploy COWs (Cells on Wheels) and COLTs (Cells on Light Trucks) to any areas impacted by the storm and in need of additional wireless capacity."
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 53.7 million connections as of June 30, 2017 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.
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Media Contacts:
John Votava, Sprint – West Area
949-242-9017
Roni Singleton, Sprint – East Area
404-649-8354
Lisa Belot, Sprint – National
913-315-5730